
Class _ 



Book 



\ I 



_:. ...^_: 






COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



J&jUr, <"■ &■ "-^ ^—^V 







REV. W. E. HARLOW, 



Professor of Psychology, Doctor of Sug- 
gestive Therapeutics and Superinten- 
dent of the Teaching Department 
of the Parsons School of 
Suggestion. 



I . 



TWO COPIES RECEIVED, 

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leglster of Copyrights 



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Copyrighted, 1899, 

By The Parsons School of Suggestive Therapeutics. 

All Plights Reserved. 



SECOND COPY, 









flfcail Course on 

Suoaestive Therapeutics 

BY THE 

PARSONS SCHOOL OF SUGGESTIVE THERAPEUTICS, 

DR. J. W. TIN DEB, PROF. W. E. HARLOW, 

Supt. Medical Dept. Supt. Teaching Dept. 

INTRODUCTION. 

It is not our purpose in this course to give a history of 
hypnotism, medicine or disease, as these can all be had in 
books on these subjects. This course is not intended to be 
exhaustive, and its object is to give to those who cannot 
come here and take the course, an opportunity to iearn the 
practical application of suggestion in the cure of disease. 
"When these truths are clearly understood, the success of the 
student will depend upon the amount of practice he obtains. 
We have tried to put our thoughts in simple language, so 
simple and plain that the most ordinary may understand 
them. We have quoted rather freely from others on the 
subject, for two reasons, First, because the student will 
see that our system and mode of applying suggestion 
is the same as the other leading men and schools of this 
country use. Second, because we had these authors and 
writers with articles on special subjects which were already 
at our hands, and being delayed somewhat in getting out our 
course, used them to expedite our work. It is not nearly so 
good as our personal lectures where we can explain everything 
and demonstrate it before our class. But the student of any- 
thing must have some originality about him to succeed, and 
it will apply in this. In these lessons you may find many im- 
perfections, but you have the whole gist of Suggestion, and 
if you will apply them you cannot help but succeed. We 
will answer any question that the student of this course may 
have to ask that is not included herein, without charge, if 
it is in our power to do so. 



LESSON I. 

' ' A.s the Creator of the universe has endowed man with 
reason and assigned him a noble and intelligent rank in the 
scale of intellectual and moral being — and as he has com- 
manded him to use this faculty — so I may with justice re- 
mark, that he who cannot reason is a fool ; he who dare not 
reason, is a coward ; he who will not reason, is a bigot ; but 
he who can and dare reason, is a man. (Dods.) It is by no 
means an enviable task to step aside from the long beaten 
path of science into the unexplored and trackless regions of 
solitude and silence. By so doing and daring to think for 
myself I am well aware that I assume no very enviable position 
as it regards popularity. Independent thought and fearless 
expression have ever drawn forth the scoffs and sneers of 
that portion of our race who have adopted, without investi- 
gation the scientific opinions of others. I refer to those only 
who have received their ideas from others by inheritance, 
as they did their real-estate. For the one they never la- 
bored, and for the other they never thought. Such persons, 
though professing to be learned, and perchance even claim- 
ing to be the guardians of science, are nevertheless its great- 
est enemies ; and by exerting their influence in favor of old 
opinions, however absurd, and against any innovations, 
however, true, useful, or grand, are checking the mighty 
march of mind. Science commenced its career at the break- 
ing morn of creation, with but few passengers on board, and 
has continued its course with increasing speed and growing 
glory down to the present moment. It now travels with the 
brilliancy and rapidity of the lightning's blaze, and even 
compels the very lightning to speak in a familiar voice to 
man. The chariot of science is destined to continue its ma- 
jestic course, in duration coeval with our globe. Still more, 
ifc is destined to pass the boundaries of the mouldering 
tomb — to snatch immortality from the iron grasp of death 



— 2— 

and roll on in living grandeur through the eternal world 
gathering new accessions of intellectual beauty and unend- 
ing delight. If no human being had dared to hazzard the 
expression of an original thought, then nothing in the 
realms of science would have been disclosed by speech, nor 
penned in books. A dreary, barren waste, wrapped in soli- 
tude and night, would have reigned for human contempla- 
tion. It is by daring to step aside from the beaten track of 
tradition, and bringing forth from the dark arcana of nature 
into the light of day, some new truth, that we add our mite 
to the common stock of knowledge already accumulated. 
He who denies us this grand right of our nature is a scien- 
tific bigot, and has yet to learn, that even the school and 
college were only established to discipline the mind for ac- 
tion. The truths that God has established inherent in nat- 
ure, are not only infinitely diversified, but are at the same 
time immutable and eternal. ISo possible addition can be 
made to their number, nor is it in the power of man to create 
or annihilate a single truth in the empire of nature. They 
exist, independent of his belief or unbelief, and all he can do 
is to search them out, and bring them forth from darkness 
into the light of day. And he who has the magnanimity to 
do this, so far from being opposed and persecuted, should 
be sustained and encouraged as the benefactor of his race. 
That the new psychology in its application to the cure of 
diseases, should meet with some opposition from men of a 
peculiar constitution of mind, and a certain degree of scien- 
tific attainments, is nothing strange. Nor is it at all mirac- 
ulous, that a few, who are deemed men of talents, should 
oppose, and even deride it as a humbug. But as genius is 
supremely higher than talents, so I boldly and safely make 
the declaration that no man of genius has ever opposed Sug- 
gestive Therapeutics. All other sciences in their infancy 
received from such men a like opposition, and upon their 



founders they freely breathed out their derision, scorn, and 
sneers. Harvey discovered the circulation of the blood, and 
was opposed and derided, but Harvey's name stands immor- 
tal on the records of true fame, and the blood still continues 
to frolic in crimson streams through its living channels, 
while his learned opposers are forgotten. The same can be 
said of Galileo in his discovery of the rotation of the globe 
on its axis ; Newton in the discovery of the law of gravita- 
tion. Fulton, was derided, and even men of science pointed 
at him the finger of indignant scorn, because he declared 
that steam could move an engine of tremendous power, and 
propel vessels of thousands of tons burthen against wind 
and tide. Such has been the fate of all sciences in the in- 
fancy of their existence. The moment they were born into 
life, the battle axe was raised against them, and each in suc- 
cession has fought its way up to manhood. The victory in 
favor of truth has always been sure, and millions of syco- 
phants, in the contest, have perished. How lamentable is 
the consideration that there are those in this day of light, 
who, regardless of the warning voice of past generations, 
coming up from ten thousand graves, still shut their ears 
and close their eyes, to keep popular with those on whom 
they depend for momentary fame. True fame consists in 
the lofty aspirations after intellectual and moral truth; and 
when these are found and cherished, that so deep will be 
the convictions of duty, sustained by sterling honor, that no 
popularity — no bribes of wealth and splendor — no fears of 
frowns, nor even the hazard of life exposed to wasting tor- 
tures shall deter that man from expressing and maintaining 
such truth. He who does this possesses true and righteous 
fame. Should the scoffers of rising science challenge me to 
produce such an example of true fame ever being set on 
earth, I would point them to one perfect specimen on the sa- 
cred page, I would point them to the Son of Man in the majesty 



—4— 

of whose virtues, honor, and firmness in proclaiming truth, 
language is impoverished, all human description fails, and 
the living light of eloquence is darkened forever. As the 
object of the science of Suggestive Therapeutics to pro- 
duce such mental and moral impressions upon the sick and 
afflicted as shall restore them to health and happiness, and 
as this can positively be accomplished upon all who can be 
brought into the psychological state so the vast importance 
and utility of this science are but faintly realized by the 
public at large — are but dimly seen. Even when a person 
cannot be brought into the most perfect psychological state 
so that a muscle can be paralyzed, still we can, in the great 
majority of cases, either cure or greatly benefit the sufferer 
by physical and mental impressions upon his body and 
mind, provided he will faithfully follow our directions. 

[LESSOR II. 

The purpose of this lesson is to explain as simply as 
possible the meaning of the word Psychology, and to point 
out the scientific application of the knowledge we have 
gained from the study of the science to all kinds and classes 
of disease. 

Psychology means briefly the science of the mind ; a 
knowledge of the power within ; and the application of this 
science to the physical ills of the body is known as Sugges- 
tive Therapeutics. The value of psychology to the world 
at large lies in its power to ameliorate conditions of disease. 
It is well to recognize that there are powers in the mind of 
man which will make the healthy man more healthy, but the 
point which will appeal more forcibly to a sufferer and an 
invalid is, that by the use of psychology we bring into play 
an active, positive force which will make the sick body well, 
by restoring the normal or natural conditions. Now the 



natural condition of man is health, and without touching 
here upon the vexed question of heredity and hereditary 
influences it may be broadly stated that the old saying : 
' As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is ;' is being constantly 
proven true. If a man believes himself to be sick, he will 
by his own thought, produce in himself physical changes 
corresponding to the nature of the disease he believes him- 
self to be suffering from. The treatment of disease by 
psychological processes may be summarized thus : Thoughts 
are things ; change the thought and benefit will ensue. Let 
us begin at the beginning and show what scientific warrant 
we have for our declaration that the mind of man is power- 
ful enough, when properly directed, to control certain forms 
of disease. We can follow out our argument without 
diverging from the question as it applies to the healing art. 
It is now many years since the pilgrim in search of 
health made his journey to Lourdes, France, in the hope 
that by the healing grace of the saint he worshipped he 
might be healed of his bodily infirmity. Wonderful indeed, 
to witness or to read of, is the now yearly pilgrimages to 
that shrine of the halt, the blind, and the sick, and still more 
wonderful to those who are ignorant of the principles at 
work, are the remarkable cures which result from that 
journey. It has been estimated that ten per cent of the so- 
called incurable cases have yielded to the healing power of 
the shrine. Is this, then, an evidence of a miracle ? By no 
means. Among all nations and people there are certain 
localities, or certain persons credited with the possession of 
this healing power of supernatural origin. Through the 
efforts of Monseigneur de Laval, in the year 1670 a precious 
relic was obtained from Carcassone, a town in France ?£^ 
nothing less, in fact, than a notable fragment of a finger 



— 6— 

bone of Saint Anne herself. This relic was conveyed to the 
church and has not ceased to be the object of fervent devo- 
tion. The letters attesting its authenticity can be seen 
hanging in frames upon the walls of the sacristy. 

Within the past two decades a marvelous efficacy in the 
curing of disease has been found to exist in the waters of a 
spring which rises a few steps behind the chapel of Beaupre. 

It matters very little whether the particular ' ' charm ' 
which works the cure is in the form of a piece of wood, a 
block of stone, a finger bone of a Saint, a glass of con- 
secrated water, or a living being, the point to note is, that a 
very large percentage of the so-called miracles are actually 
wrought, and that, apparently, through personal contact 
with the charm. But we find that when a piece of ordinary 
wood was substituted, without the knowledge of the suppli- 
ant for a supposed fragment of the true cross in the Geneva 
Monastery, there was no abatement of the cures or miracles, 
when a piece of iron was enclosed in a small .case, and held 
aloft to be gazed at by the stricken wretches in search of 
ease from suffering, the results obtained were precisely the 
same as when that case did indeed contain a bone from the 
foot of one of the saints. So that from these and from a 
dozen other known facts of similar import we gather this 
scientific truth. The healing virtue does not rest in the 
relic, but in the attitude of mind of the sufferer. In other 
words, those who were healed, were healed by the power of 
their own minds, suddenly roused into activity. It may be 
taken for granted that among those unfortunates who made, 
and still make their pilgrimage, and who return as sick as 
j^when they started, a large proportion could be benefited and 
perhaps restored to health by the judicious employment of 
specific medicines. Faith worketh marvels truly, but faith 
alone is not sufficient for all things in this materialistic age. 



— 7— 

In face of the fact that some are healed by faith, and some 
are not, theory falls to the ground, and we must deal with 
the facts as we find them. In these cures by faith there is 
no evidence of the transmission of divine power from the 
relic or agent to the sufferer. There is no evidence of a 
miracle. A miracle is something super-natural, something 
beyond the pale of natural law. Do we know of any example 
in which the laws of nature were arbitrarily thrust aside ? 
I refer now especially to the miracles of healing. Did not 
•the great Healer himself demand that in those he healed, 
the conditions of faith, or expectancy of relief should be 
present ? How often do we find that quality ' faith ' the 
condition, the essential condition, upon which the wonder 
depended ! We quote a few examples, ' ' Thy faith hath 
saved thee. " " According to thy faith be it unto you. " " O 
thou of little faith. " " I have not found so great a faith." 
"And he did cot many miracles there because of their un- 
belief. ' ' It would seem then that the condition of mind of 
the sufferer is a very potent factor in establishing or remov- 
ing a disease. In carefully diagnosiug the cases treated by 
miracle workers, metaphysicians and mental healers of all 
kinds, we come upon the important facts. Firstly, they can 
and do cure similar ailments in different people by entirely 
different modes of treatments, and in using the word "ail- 
ments " we do not mean thereby merely hysterical diseases. 
Secondly, they do not perform a cure until the mind of the 
patient is brought by prayer, communion, thought, or read- 
ing into a condition of hope, merging into the conviction of 
faith, has been established. Y\ T e know that certain cases 
which have bafaed the skill of the duly qualified physician 
yeild to the mental treatment of the metaphysician. We 
know, also, that many of these cases which derive no benefit 
from the mental treatment are quickly and permanently 
cured by medicine. 



Is there a reason for this too ? Is the virtue in the 
drug ? Sometimes, yes ; or here again, as in the case of the 
worshiper at the shrine, the virtue may be in the patient. 
He cured himself by the agency of drugs, because drugs 
were, in his case, the strongest suggestion that his mind 
could grasp of benefit to follow. There are certain medi- 
cines which are a help to the sick, and in their physiological 
action upon all temperaments are uniform and salutary. To 
refuse to employ medicine of any kind is the height of folly, 
and is the weak spot in the armor of the mental healer. To 
refuse to acknowledge the power of the mind when properly 
directed, by scientific methods, is the weakness of the duly 
qualified physician, and not all his knowledge of medicine, 
anatomy, surgery, and physiology, can compensate for his 
ignorance of psychology. Although the medical profession 
discountenance the simple remedies in the main, it must not 
be supposed that they do not in some instances make use of 
the power of suggestion. Let us take a case in point : In 
treating one who has been a victim to the morphine habit, 
the physician is sometimes implored by his patient for just 
enough morphine to make him sleep. "For God's sake," 
he cries, "just one injection to send me to sleep." What 
course does the physician pursue here ? To argue would be 
useless ; to tell this tortured creature that his mind was all 
powerful, and could control the suffering of his body, would 
seem like a jest, a mockery. The doctor assents, and gives 
his patient a hypodermic injection into his arm, an injection 
of pure water, which the patient believes to be morphine. 
Now observe the force of suggestion. With his mind and 
body racked and tortured by pain, the patient, on receiving 
the injection of water, is convinced that his suffering 
will cease, and that he will be compelled to sleep. 
And when this conviction is present the result will 



— 9— 

generally follow. His mind then fortified by suggestion, 
asserts its power over the body. It is his mind that calms 
his nerves and soothes his brain ; it is his mind that sends 
him to sleep. Thus far then we have proceeded in our ar- 
gument. We have proved that in certain cases of abnormal 
conditions of the body, which is disease, the mind is su- 
preme in effecting a cure. Now, without detracting, or 
seeking to detract from the credit which is due to all schools 
of healing, by whatever name they may be called, for the 
great work they are doing toward the relief of suffering, let 
us bear in mind that their successes are all due to one fund- 
amental principle in human nature ; i. e. , the power of the 
mind to help itself, and so to help the body. These differ - 
erent schools do not create the power ; it is there already ; it 
is in the mind ; a part of it which is every man's birthright. 
This power does not depend upon a profession of Christian- 
ity, or any other faith. It is as perfect in the atheist as in 
the religious fanatic ; in the agnostic as in the devotee ; in 
the woman as in the man. And as the successes of these 
schools of healing are traceable to one cause, so their fail- 
ures also can be accounted for. Either the patient's mind is 
not properly attuned to the treatment he is undergoing ; 
either he has no confidence in the remedies employed, and 
therefore he receives no benefit ; or his disease demanded 
the use of material medicine. Is there no remedy for this 
state of affairs ? Yes, there is a remedy, and it is found in 
the study of Suggestive Therapeutics. Even at the present 
time there is no school of healing which is not based upon 
the truths of psychology, not one which psychology does 
not embrace and envelope. It is the Arron's rod of medical 
science ; and, coupled with the judicious employment of 
medicines, it is more effective in the treatment of disease 



—10— 

than any other method known to man. Psychology deals 
directly with the mind. There is no muscle or nerve in the 
human body which caunot be brought under the absolute 
control of the mind. Physicians have given their attention 
to the body, and have neglected to cultivate the natural force 
of recuperation and resistance which is inherent in every 
man. Metaphysicians have gone to the other extreme, and 
have despised the weakness of the body, refusing to sanc- 
tion the use of necessary medicines. The wise man is he 
who bends all things to his service in the evolution of good. 
At the Parsons School of Suggestive Therapeutics our 
students are taught the true meaning of the power of their 
minds. In this school the patient is taught practically and 
swiftly how to heal himself. In order that you may better 
understand the modus operandi of the law of suggestion, I 
will first make a physiological explanation of our being, 
which will prepare the way for a treatise on the psycholog- 
ical powers and functions of the mind. We have two dis- 
tinct brains — the cerebrum, with its two hemispheres and 
six lobes, commencing at the frontal part of the skull, and 
occupying the greater portion of the cavity ; and the cere- 
bellum which occupies the back portion of the skull. The 
spinal marrow, extending through the vertebras to the bot- 
tom of the trunk, is but the continuation of these two 
brains. Prom the spinal marrow branch out thirty-two 
pairs of nerves, embracing both the nerves of motion and 
those of sensation. Prom these again branch out others 
and in thousands of ramifications carry out the full power of 
both brains into every part of the system. The cerebrum is 
the great fountain of the voluntary nerves, through which 
the voluntary powers of the mind ever act. The cere- 
bellum is the fountain of the involuntary nerves, through 
which the involuntary powers of the mind ever act. 
Though the voluntary and involuntary nerves from 



—11— 

these two brains seem to blend in the spinal marrow, 
yet they preserve their distinct character, even to their 
final termination in the system, and execute the func- 
tions appertaining to their own office in producing voluntary 
and involuntary motion. Such is the residence of the 
human mind, which seems to hold its throne in the medulla 
oblongata, at the fountain head of the voluntary and 
involuntary nerves. From thence the mind, by its volitions, 
controls all the voluntary motions of the body, through the 
cerebrum. At will I move my hands in any possible direc- 
tion I please to handle substances, and at will I move my 
feet to walk. But over the throbbings of my heart, the 
ultimate heaving of my lungs, the circulation of my blood, 
and the digestion of food in my stomach, I have no volun- 
tary control. Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, the heart 
continues its motions, and the functions of life are executed, 
whether I will it or not. These then receive their motions 
from the involuntary powers of my mind, acting through the 
cerebellum. That these are all moved by mind is certain, 
because, take the mind or spirit from the body and all 
motions, whether voluntary or involuntary instantly cease. 
We come now to a study of the duality of the mind. As man 
is possessed of two forces, positive and negative, and two 
brains, cerebrum and cerebellum, so he is possessed, of two 
minds, the subjective and the objective. The objective mind 
resides in the cerebrum. It is the mind with which we do 
business ; the mind that comes, developes with, and finally 
dies with the physical body. It controls as before stated all 
voluntary motion. It is taught to reason by all processes, 
induction, deduction analytic and synthetic. The subjective 
mind is a seperate and distinct entity. It may be said to 
occupy the whole human body, especially the cerebellum 



—12— 

and spinal column. It controls all involuntary motion. As 
it is the subjective with which we have to do in the cure of 
disease and correction of vice, I will here give the normal 
functions of the subjective mind as formulated by Thos. J. 
Hudson. 

( 1 ) It is constantly amenable to control by the power 
of suggestion. 

( 2 ) It is incapable of inductive reasoning ; can reason 
only by deduction. Inductive reasoning is to first have facts, 
verified, and classified, and then reason from these par- 
ticular facts up to generals. Deductive reasoning, is to 
begin with generals and reason down to particulars. 

( 3 ) It has practically a perfect memory. 

(4) It is the seat of the emotions. Under this head we 
find four minor functions which may be said, three of them 
belong to all animal creation ; they are instinctive emotions 
as follows : 

(a) Self preservation. 

(b) Reproduction. 

(c) Preservation of the off-spring. 

(d) Religious worship. These are the only normal 
functions of the soul in its relation to the physical body. 

(5) The subjective mind possesses the power to move 
ponderable objects without physical contact ; this is witnessed 
in spiritism. 

( 6 ) It has the power to communicate and receive 
intelligence otherwise than through the channels of the 
senses. It perceives by intuition which is called telepathy. 

( 7 ) Its activity and power are inversely proportionate 
to the vigor and healthfulness of the physical organism — 
that is, the nearer death and disolution we approach, the 
stronger and more active becomes the subjective mind. 

(8) It absolutely controls the functions, sensa- 
tions, and conditions of the body, when not opposed 
by the objective mind. All of the silent involun- 
tary and vegetative functions, nutrition, waste, all 



—13— 

secretion and excretion, the heart and lungs, and all 
cell life are positively under the complete control of the sub- 
jective mind. The subjective mind never sleeps. The fac- 
ulty of measuring time is inherent in the subjective mind 
alone. It accepts without doubt or hesitation every sugges- 
tion made to it, no matter how absurd, or incongruous, so 
long as the suggestion does not conflict with the settled con- 
victions and principles of one's life. This can at any time- 
be demonstrated by a simple hypnotic experiment. Having 
now before us the functions of the two minds, we will now 
consider how to apply suggestion in the cure of diseases. 
The subjective mind being constantly amenable to control 
by the power of suggestion, and controlling the functions, 
sensations, and conditions of the body, we have simply to 
place the subject for treatment in a psychological state, 
where the objective mind will not oppose us, nor enter into 
controversy with us ; and this we do by inducing a hypno- 
sis. Hypnotism, as it is called, is a misnomer ; it is rather 
psychotism : which is the elevation of the subjective mind 
above the threshold of consciousness, and the complete 
abeyance of the objective mind. When this state has been 
induced, we then proceed to make such suggestions, as may 
fit the case under consideration, and which is given in 
another lesson. 

LESSON III. 

HYPNOTISM. 

We now come to the study of how to induce hypnosis, 
and it is my purpose to set forth in these lessens the very 
best results of my research among all the best authors who 
have so ably written upon this science, among whom I may 
mention Dr. Albert Moll, Dr. Bernheim, Dr. Pitzer, Dr. 
Wetterstrand, Thomas J. Hudson, Meacham, Prof. Harriden, 
J. B. Dods and others. These are the representative au- 



—14— 

thors on this subject, and tower above all others who have 
given us the benefit of their knowledge. You may rest as- 
sured that you can find nothing better than these lessons if 
you were to read all the books printed. I give you just 
what you need to know, and all there is to the subject. Be- 
sides the results of- my research in literature, I give you my 
own experience and practice, covering a period of more than 
twenty years. Follow these instructions faithfully and your 
success is as sure as the law of gravity. I have already de- 
fined hypnotism in lesson two, which no other work on hyp- 
notism that I have seen has ever done. When you consider 
that the subjective mind is incapable of controversial argu- 
ment, you will at once understand that necessary conditions 
is a vital point" in inducing hypnosis, especially the first 
'time. k There are but few people of sound mind and who will 
submit but that can be hypnotized under favorable conditions. 
Children under three years of age are not susceptible, and 
very rarely under five or six years of age. I succeeded in 
hypnotizing one child not quite four years old, but she was 
exceptionally bright for one of her years. Never waste your 
time on a person who is under the influence of alcohol or 
morphine, or who has not full control of his reason. Some 
people, in their ignorance, imagine that only "weak minded 
people ' ' or children can be hypnotized. This is false. Age 
does not make much difference, while the superior intel- 
lectual person is far to be desired. You can not hypnotize 
an idiot. It is sometimes difficult to induce a hypnosis dur- 
ing intense pain, unless the person has often been placed in 
that state. Your first subject should be an "old subject," 
that is one who has been hypnotized. If you cannot get 
such a one to begin with, get a stranger if possible, who is 
willing to be hypnotized by you, as your friends might not 
have confidence in your ability. What you most need, as an 



—15— 

operator, is confidence. Never .get rattled or scared, as 
the^e is nothing to cause alarm. ; Learn to control yourself, 
and you will have no difficulty in controlling others. 4}" 
ways give your subject to be hypnotized to understand be- 
fore you begin on him, that you are perfectly qualified to 
take care of liim/and there is no question but what you can 
hypnotize him with perfect ease. Should you fail, give him 
to understand that v it is his fault, ,and not yours, and that 
the next time, he can and will submit better, and you will 
have no troubles Sometimes you will find people you wiir 
fail on though they be ever so willing, and with all confi- 
dence in your ability. Sometimes the difficulty is a sub- 
jective scepticism, or fear, but it is most likely to be a fail- 
ure to be able to concentrate their minds on any one thing. 
Assure your subject that he will experience nothing strange 
or unusual, and that he will always be conscious of what 
you say to him. Some, in fact, most people have an idea 
that they will lose consciousness, and perhaps never wake 
up, which is all due to their ignorance of the science, and 
you should always assure them to the contrary. Never al- 
low anyone present when you are to hypnotize a subject the 
first time, who openly avows himself sceptical on hypnotism. 
He may thwart your efforts. Allow no levity, or foolishness 
either in the subject or others, who may be present. Have 
your subject either recline on a couch, or sit in a comforta- 
ble rocking chair in such a position as to relax himself com- 
pletely from head to foot. Then you may proceed to hyp- 
notize him by any of the following methods, which are the 
best known, and most used, by all expert hypnotists in the 
land. There are three distinct schools, and I give you all 
their methods. I mention first the Braid method, which is con- 



—16— 

sidered the quickest, and when coupled with the Nancy pro- 
cess ( suggestion ) the surest and best. It is fixation of gaze. 
Take a coin or any other bright object, such as a button cov- 
ered with tin foil, hold it about ten inches in front and as 
high above the eyes as your subject can see it, tell him to 
keep his eyes fixed on the object, and to not bat or wink the 
eyes, and that he will soon go to sleep. Hold the object 
yourself in the right hand, and your left hand on his head. 
Keep your eyes on his, and when you see any symptoms of 
sleep you should at once take advantage of it by making 
some such remarks as these : "Your eyes are getting heavy 
now, you will soon go into a pleasant, relaxed and comfort- 
able sleep ; breathe deep and regular ; keep your eyes fixed ; 
think only of sleep ; now the lids are heavy ; your eyes are 
tired ; you will soon be sound asleep ; your thoughts will be- 
come more and more confused; your arms and hands are 
becoming drowsy ; your eyes are closing, closing." After 
he has looked for about two minutes, if the eyes do not be- 
gin to droop and show signs of closing, you should then 
gradually lower the object slowly, all the time suggesting 
that his eyes are closing, and that he is going to sleepy If, 
as will sometimes happen, his eyes do not close as you lower 
the object, then with the left hand which is on his head, 
close his eyes with your thumb and forefinger and let them 
remain for a minute or two lightly resting on the closed 
eyes. For the first minute keep on making suggestions, 
then remove the hand from the eyes, and make a few light 
passes from the forehead to the tips of the fingers, suggest- 
ing that he is now in a very sound sleep. Say to him, "You 
are now fast asleep from head to foot ; your eyes are fast 
closed ; you will sleep till I wake you up ; nothing will dis- 
turb or wake you; you will pay attention to me and do as I tell 

(2) 



—17— 

you; your eyes are stuck tight; you cannot open them; you may 
think you can but you can riot; you may try your best; you 
can not do it; try, try hard." If he cannot open them, you 
can then raise his arm, and after making a few passes from 
the shoulder to the tips of the fingers, and at the same time 
suggesting that it is stiff and that he can not put it down, 
you will find that in a large number of cases that such will 
be the case. If you desire to have your subject do some- 
thing funny, and the hypnosis has been induced merely for 
experiment and entertainment, you are now ready to pro- 
ceed, by suggesting to him your desires. If for therapeutical 
purposes, let him sleep ten or fifteen minutes, before making 
your suggestions, as he will pass into a deeper sleep, which 
for the best results is always desirable. Another and very 
successful method is to use your eye instead of a bright 
object ; but you must practice fixing your eyes on some 
object, so that you can look for at least five minutes without 
either blurring your vision, or batting your eyes, or allowing 
them to water. Never stare but with a firm and determined 
look, take your subject by the hand with a slight pressure 
on the median nerve with the thumb of your right hand, and 
the left resting on the head, look at each others right eye, 
and use the same suggestion as in the proceeding method. 
A simple and easy method which I have used with good re- 
sults, and especially for nervous people is, to have them lie 
down on a couch, where you can sit over them, and back 
well, so that to see your eye they will be compelled to turn 
their eyes back as far as possible ; have them relax well, 
take their right hand in yours, with your left on their head 
and say to them, " Now look at my right eye, and keep look- 
ing at it while I talk." Then say, " I am going to count, 
and when I count one you will close your eyes, and wheu I 
count two you will open them and look me straight in the 
eye, now pay attention and don't move your eyes till I count, 



—18— 

now, one. " After you have counted slowly for, say up to 
ten, let his eyes be closed longer than they are open, and all 
the time they are closed make suggestions, such as "you 
will think of nothing but sleep; your eyes are getting heavy; 
you will find it difficult to open them now. " Keep up the 
count giving plenty of time and suggestions and they will 
soon be unable to open their eyes. I will now give the 
Messmer method. Seat your subject in a comfortable chair, 
take your.position immediately in front of him, raise your 
hands, and move them downwards, with the palms toward 
him, from the top of the head to about the pit of the 
stomach, at the distance from two to four inches. As soon 
as your hands come to the lowest part of the stroke, carry 
them with a wide sweep and out spread arms up over the 
subjects head, and repeat the same movements until he goes 
to sleep, which generally requires about ten minutes. 
Hypnotism as practiced by the Nancy school, may stand as 
the resentative of mental treatment of disease by purely oral 
suggestions. The following extract from Prof. Bernheim's 
able work on Suggestive Therapeutics embraces the 
essential features of the method of inducing sleep practiced 
by that school : " I begin by saying to the patient that I 
believe benefit is to be derived from the use of suggestive 
therapeutics ; that it is possible to cure or to relieve him by 
hypnotism ; that there is nothing either hurtful or strange 
about it ; that it is an ordinary sleep, or torpor, which can be 
induced in almost every one, and that this quiet, beneficial 
condition restores the equilibrium of the nervous system, 
etc. If necessary I hypnotize one or two subjects in his 
presence, in order to show him that there is nothing painful 
in this condition, and that it is not accompanied with any 
unusual sensation. When I have thus banished from his 
mind the idea of magnetism and the somewhat mysterious 



—19— 

fear that attaches to that unknown condition, above all when 
he has seen patients cured or benefited by the means in 
question, he is no longer suspicious, but gives himself up. 
Then I say, "Look at me and think of nothing but sleep. 
Your eyelids begin to feel heavy ; your eyes are tired. They 
begin to wink, they are getting moist ; you cannot see dis- 
tinctly. They are closed. Some patients close their eyes 
and are asleep immediately. With others I have to repeat, 
lay more stress on what I say, and even make gestures. It 
makes little difference what sort of gesture is made. I hold 
two fingers of my right hand before the patients eyes and 
ask him to look at them, or pass both hands several times 
before his eyes, or persuade him to fix his eyes upon mine, 
endeavoring at the same time, to concentrate his attention 
upon the idea of sleep. I say, "your lids are closing; you 
can not open them again. Your arms feel heavy ; so do 
your legs. You can not feel anything. Your hands are 
motionless. You see nothing ; you are going to sleep." And 
I add in a commanding tone " Sleep. " This word often turns 
the balance. The eyes close, and the patient sleeps, oris at 
least influenced. Others offer more resistance. I sometimes 
succeed by keeping the eyes closed for some time, command- 
ing silence and quiet, talking continuously, and repeating 
the same formulas: 'You feel a sort of drowsiness, a 
torpor ; your arms and legs are motionless. Your eyelids 
are warm. Your nervous system is quiet ; you have no will. 
Your -eyes remain closed. Sleep is coming,' etc. After 
keeping up this auditory suggestion for several minutes, I 
remove my fingers. The eyes remain closed. I raise the 
patients arms ; they remain uplifted. We have induced 
cataleptic sleep." Such are the methods of the Nancy school, 
which I consider the most desirable for therapeutic pur- 
poses. You will likely not have occasion to hypnotize several 



—20— 

persons at once, but should you do so, you can use much 
the same methods required to hypnotize one. Simply com- 
mand them to look fixedly at some object — something 
bright is the best — and make the usual suggestions to bring 
about sleep. Any number of persons can thus be frequently 
influenced at one time. You can also awaken them all at one 
time, by using the same method required to wake one sim- 
ply. The susceptibility of the subject is an important fac- 
tor in the time taken to induce the hypnotic condition. The 
usual time required to hypnotize the majority of people 
varies from thirty seconds to five minutes. Some cases, of 
course, present greater difficulty, and several attempts are 
found necessary before success is attained. Many people 
think it is a sign of weak will to yield readily to hypnotism, 
and that it is a sign of strong character to resist. Both views 
are equally erroneous. It is not a question of the strongest 
mind conquering in a contest, but of submission and passiv- 
ity on the part of the one to be hypnotized. When you hear 
a person boasting that ' ' nobody can hypnotize me, " you can 
at once set him down as an ignoramus who knows nothing 
whatever about the subject. Only experiment can demon- 
strate whether a particular person can be easily hypnotized 
or not. If a person desires to be hypnotized, and you fail 
on him after several attempts, you will in most cases find 
the cause in his inability to concentrate his mind. It implies 
no weakness of nerves or brain, no mental or physical infe- 
riority of any sort, to be easily hypnotized. As these les- 
sons are purely for the students in Suggestive Therapeutics, 
and not for stage exhibitions, it is not necessary for me to go 
into a detailed account of the humorous things that a hyp- 
notized person will do. It is sufficient to say that he will 
obey any suggestion you may give him, provided, however, 
that a sufficient degree of hypnosis has been induced, and 
that the suggestion does not conflict with the settled convic- 



—21— 

tions and principles of the subject's life. You cannot wrest 
a secret from a person under hypnotic influence any quicker 
than awake. The moral character is always the same, 
asleep or awake. You will only find three degrees in hyp- 
notism, however you may read in some books of six or more. 
The first state is called lethargy, in which the condition is 
one of very sound slumber, accompanied by great muscular 
relaxation. The second degree is catalepsy. This state is 
the one in which the muscles become so rigid as to render 
the body capable of being sustained at the head and feet 
alone. This state is brought about entirely by suggestion. 
The third and most desirable state is called somnambulism. 
In this condition your suggestions are believed and acted 
upon without doubt or hesitation. Some people are just as 
susceptible in the lighter degrees as others are in the deeper 
ones. In fact the student should pay but little attention to 
these stages. Simply hypnotize your subject as per instruc- 
tions and go right ahead with your suggestions. 

LESSON IV. 

The student of Suggestive Therapeutics, like every ad- 
vocate of a new science, will meet with many difficulties for 
a time, owing to the prejudice and ignorance that exists in 
the minds of so many, and it is well therefore to be able to 
meet these in the best possible way. The agitation caused 
by the Christian Scientists in the medical fraternity has put 
the latter in arms against all kinds of mental healing ; how- 
ever the Science of Suggestion commands greater respect 
from the physician than all the other modes of mental heal- 
ing. I would suggest to the lay student in Suggestion, that 
as little be said about hypnotism as possible. Call it the 
"suggestible state," or "impressible condition," and thus 
avoid the odium that is usually attached to hypnotism. 



—22— 

You are now ready to ask, " How can a hypnosis be in- 
duced without the patient knowing it ?" I answer, it is not 
necessary for the patient to know it, some of the authors on 
hypnotism to the contrary notwithstanding. I hypnotize 
people every day without saying anything about it. After 
you have examined your patient carefully and have learned 
what the trouble is, and what you are to treat, if you think 
it is judicious to speak of hypnotism, you can proceed about 
as follows : Place your patient in a recumbent posture, if 
convenient on a couch where the limbs can be placed in a 
relaxed position, then instruct your patient to relax his body 
and mind as much as possible, and close his eyes, keep them 
shut, and listen to all you say : then begin by saying to 
him, "Now the first thing we will do is to harmonize the 
functions of your body, and equalize the nerve currents, and 
in order to do this I will fix a current with myself by taking 
your hands for a moment. Take both of the patients hands 
and with a gentle pressure hold them for about a minute, 
saying nothing, then remove one of your hands to the pa- 
tient's head with fingers extended and thumb on individual- 
ity (root of the nose between the eyes) with a slight pres- 
sure of another minute, when you can begin to suggest, "A 
quiet, easy feeling begins to come over you ; you are breath- 
ing free and easy ; your nerves are getting very quiet, and 
you begin to feel drowsy" ''Easy, quiet feelings come all 
over you, and you begin to want to sleep ; let yourself go, 
and follow your inclinations." Now take your hands and 
make light passes beginning a,t the forehead down over the 
body to the feet ; keep this up for five or ten minutes, all the 
time making such suggestions as will tend to produce sleep 
and drowsiness. After you have your patient breathing free 
and easy and seeming to sleep, you can then begin to make 
such suggestions as is conducive to his condition, and which 



—23— 

isfound in another lesson on the treatment of different diseases. 
Always wake one of these kind of patients in the same man- 
ner as you would if they were hypnotized with their knowl- 
edge, that is by informing them that you are now going to 
wake them when you count five etc. After you have given 
a patient of this kind two or three treatments it is not neces- 
sary to go through all of the foregoing procedure, you can 
simply have them lie down, close their eyes, make a few 
long passes and they are asleep, ready for the suggestions. 
If, as will sometimes happen, your patient does not get 
drowsy or go to sleep the first few treatments according to 
the foregoing method, go right ahead and make your 
suggestions just the same as if he was sound asleep, keeping 
up a logical flow of oral suggestions, all the time which will 
have the desired effect. Sometimes those who are the 
hardest to get to sleep will improve the fastest. If the 
student of suggestion desires to be successful he must have 
his mind on his work and the condition he desires to bring- 
about in his patient. Experience has taught me this. I did 
not use to think the mind played such an important part on 
the operators part, but after several hard patients whom I 
could not affect otherwise, I am convinced of the importance 
of telepathy in connection with oral treatment. To convince 
yourself of this take, a subject some time after you have 
given the treatment, and before you wake them, when you 
are sure they are sound asleep, and instead of letting them 
know orally that you are about to wake them, put your 
mind strongly on the fact that you can awaken him mentally. 
Say to yourself mentally " now when I count ten your eyes 
will come open, and you will be wide awake." Look your 
patient straight in the eyes and begin the count slowly, all 
the time expecting that when ten is reached that his eyes 
will open. If, when the count is finished the eyes do not 
open at once, don't count any more, but keep on saying to 



—24— 

yourself " they will open soon, you are waking up, you can't 
sleep any longer, etc. Keep this up till they do come open, 
which will not require more than a minute or two at most. 
After you have succeeded a few times you can then wake 
your subject at any time as quick this way, as by oral sug- 
gestion. I put most any good hypnotic subject to sleep by 
a purely mental effort and wake them the same way. I do 
this before our classes from an adjoining room, and without 
the knowledge of the patient. I take some of the students 
whom I have hypnotized before, or some patients who may 
be present, and without anyone knowing what I am about to 
do put my mind on the one I want to go to sleep, and in one 
or two minutes have them in the land of dreams. To con- 
vince my class that there is no fraud about it I produce 
anaesthesia in the subject so that a pin can be thrust 
through the skin without pain. This will convince the most 
sceptical of the power of thought and its transmission. I 
can have subjects to move a certain finger, hand or foot by a 
mental effort. This all takes concentration, and is a very 
helpful practice for one engaged in suggestive therapeutics. 
More will be said on this question under the head of absent 
treatment which will be found in the last lesson. One 
difficulty with a great many students is, they get so enthused 
over their success right in the start, and especially when 
they get a few cases that the doctors have failed on, and the 
student of suggestion succeeds on, that they begin to think 
they have a cure all for certain, and make too big their 
claims, and thus injure them. If we could always have 
favorable conditions, we could safely claim to heal more 
diseases by suggestion than any other method on earth, but 
we have no control over the conditions after a patient has 
left our office. I am almost heartsick sometimes at the 
thought of the adverse suggestions that ignorant people 



—25— 

foolishly make. I frankly declare, and firmly believe, that 
more people are killed every year by adverse suggestions, 
than are cured by medicine. For this reason it is best to 
inform your patients to not let the public know they are 
taking suggestive treatment. All your efforts can easily be 
counteracted by some " sympathizing friend " who is always 
willing to give advice such as, "Oh you will go right back as 
soon as you get out from under his influence," or " its all in 
your imagination," etc. Never take a case, if you value 
your reputation as a doctor of suggestion, where the mem- 
bers of the family are antagonistic to the treatment. Re- 
member, the most forcible suggestion is the one that pre- 
vails, and a member of the family is in telepathic report 
always. Another difficulty the mental healer will encounter, 
and which I think is of enough importance to mention here 
is, the imperative necessity of keeping your patients till a 
cure is permanently effected. To do this, it is best that you 
engage with them at first for a definite number of treat- 
ments, say a week or two weeks, or as many as your judge- 
ment thinks will take to at least put them on the road to 
recovery. Have your patients pay in advance "as a 
guarantee of good faith. " My experience wiil save you 
many good patients and several dollars. If the patient has 
invested five or ten dollars he will come and take the treat- 
ments ; if he has not paid anything, he will likely get to 
thinking that he can't see how that kind of treatment can 
cure him without medicine," and not come back. It takes 
time to get ail the functions of the body in harmony, and 
especially the kind of patients the student is called upon to 
treat ; who has tried everything under the sun before com- 
ing to you, and whose system is full of poisonous drugs. 
Get them tied for a few treatments, and as soon as 
they begin to feel the new life coming they will stay 






—26— 

with you until they are permanently cured. It takes 
from two to six weeks to cure the chronic cases that 
medicine has failed to cure. Of course you will often cure a 
chronic case of constipation in a few treatments, but there 
are nearly always other troubles caused by constipation 
which require a longer course of treatment. While we are 
on the subject of difficulties, I will mention what are supposed 
to be a few connected with hypnotism. As no two persons 
are entirely alike in any respect, you need not be disap- 
pointed if you fail to produce like results in any two sub- 
jects. In regard to the dangers in hypnotism, they have 
been very largely magnified. There are but few dangers 
resulting from the hypnotic condition, and I will mention 
them here. Remember, first, last, and all the time, that the 
hypnotic state is brought about by suggestion in some form, 
and that the subject is always amenable to suggestion. You 
can always obviate any difficulty that may present itself by 
suggestion. One difficulty you wil] find in some subjects is, 
that they are apt to fall asleep spontaneously, after having 
been previously and frequently hypnotized. If you see this 
developing in such an one, always give them suggestions 
against it, such as, "You will not go to sleep spontaneously 
during the day, nor will anyone else be able to hypnotize 
you without your consent." One other difficulty, which is 
not a danger is, the failure to wake up. You are not likely to 
find any one who will not wake up at your command. True 
we hear of several such cases, but they are always at soma 
other place. Some subjects are slow to wake up sometimes, 
and if the operator is an amateur and he gets rattled and 
runs away, which he is most sure to do, the whole commu- 
nity gets an opportunity to talk about "the dangers of hyp- 
notism. " When you go to wake your subject, tell him that 
you are now going to wake him, and that he will feel per- 
fectly comfortable and good. Say to him: "Now when I 



'—27— 

count five you will wake up, wide awake, and feel well, do 
you understand?" Have him answer in the affirmative, then 
say, "All right, I will count." County slowly, and empha- 
size each count a little more till five is reached, which should 
always be emphasized more than all, and add "wake up," in 
a commanding tone. Now, if, as is likely to happen some- 
times, that the eyes do not open at once, do not get scared 
at all; just say to him, "You are waking up, your eyes 
will soon come open, they are coming open all right. ' ' Or 
you can ask him if he wants to sleep awhile, and if he an- 
swers in the affirmative, say to him, * 'All right, you may 
sleep half an hour, when you will wake up. " Repeat this to 
him with emphasis, two or three times, and go away and let 
him alone ; he will wake up at the appointed time all right. 
As the student will most likely and should get some good 
work on hypnotism, I will not take any more space here. I 
would recommend Dr. Albert Moll on Hypnotism. He cov- 
ers the whole field, and the book only costs $1.25. 



—28— 
LESSON V. 

THE CAUSES OF DISEASE. 

In the application of suggestion in the cure of diseases, 
it is of some import for the student to have at least some 
knowledge of the cause of disease. While we can not in 
these lessons go into a detailed account of the cause of all 
diseases, yet we can in a brief space, give much that will be 
of great advantage to the lay student. Let it be understood 
at the outset, that the healing medium for all diseases is 
already in man. That medium is the blood. It is in the 
circulation of the blood that every wound is healed, and the 
rapidity with which the healing takes place depends upon 
the amount and quality of the blood supply to the affected 
part. The blood supply to an organ or part may be in- 
sufficient, impure, or obstructed, and the troubles of the cir- 
culation are brought by the failure of some organ to perform 
its functions. The organ which propels the blood, the 
heart, is within man. The force which keeps the heart in 
action is generated within man, and is dependent upon the 
quality and quantity of his blood. • The quantity and quality 
of the blood depends upon the air taken into the lungs, and 
the food digested and assimilated by the stomach and bowels. 
Anything which will interfere with a man's necessary supply 
of food, or with his digestion and assimilation of food, will 
prevent the production of vital force and interfere with his 
health, or if he be sick, will prevent or retard his recovery. 
The brain is the dominant organ of the body. Every 
muscle, nerve and organ is directly influenced by it and the 
mind. The digestion and assimilation of food may be com- 
pletely stopped by certain mental states. The mental states 
which most frequently interfere with nutrition are melan- 
cholia, worry, grief, anxiety, fear, unhappiness, love, etc. 



—29— 

More diseases are caused by constipation than any other one 
thing known. Constipation is caused by "the secretions being 
stinted and not attending to the calls of nature. The secre- 
tions are stinted by not drinking enough fluid. Every 
normal human being ought to drink not less than four or five 
pints of fluids every twenty-four hours. The reason so 
many people obtain relief at some famous watering place 
after every thing else has failed is, not because of the 
medicinal properties of the water, but because they drink 
more water than they are in the habit of drinking. Besides 
when we remember the power of auto-suggestion we have 
another factor which helps to explain why relief is so often 
obtained. Auto-suggestion is just as forceful when used 
unconsciously as any other way. Drinking spring water 
which has been analyzed and reported to contain a dozen or 
so ingredients, any of which is calculated to cure most all 
the disease in the catalogue, is like taking the doctor's 
medicine, every time a dose is taken there arises and auto- 
suggestion, " this will help me " etc. So we see how it is 
that the doctor who knows his business can succeed as well 
with his place-boe's as well as the one with the genuine 
article. Abo at as many people would get well and experi- 
ence as much relief in drinking filtered cistern water, the 
same amount, if they only believed they were drinking from 
the fountain of some life-giving spring. The all important 
organ of the system is the alimentary canal as nearly all 
substances for good or bad must pass through this canal, 
and nearly all the waste matter must be expelled through it. 
This canal begins with the mouth and ends with the anus. 
It is about 30 feet in length and is lined throughout with a 
muscular coat, which has the power to absorb, In this coat 
are many thousands of glands whose office it is to secrete a 
fluid to emulsify and digest the food. The food having been 



—30— 

taken into the mouth should be thoroughly masticated which 
consists in grinding it between the teeth and mixing it at the 
same time with the saliva, thus predigesting the food. A 
lack of this thoroughness in mastication is followed by- 
hardened and undigested particles passing on through the 
canal thus irritating and setting up a diarrhoea and its many- 
evil results, or it may occlude the bowel with constipation, 
and its greater evils resulting. How often do we see in 
children in whom the act of mastication is not well developed, 
and in grown people who eat hastily, the food passing as 
fecal matter practically in the same condition as it was 
swallowed. There can be many reasons given for this con- 
dition in grown people which space forbids but suffice to say 
\that one should eat slowly and never drink any liquid after 
Wenty minutes before eating and for at least an hour after t 
^eating. The sense of this will be seen when we know that 1, 
\ the presence of the food in. the stomach excites the many \ 
/ hundreds of glands to action in throwing out the digestive \ 
V fluid of a known consistency in which condition it can easily 
^digest the food. If now, the stomach is filled with any kind 
of liquid either just before or an hour afterwards this diges- 
tive fluid is weakened, reaction neutralized, and its power of 
digestion is greatly impaired. This being continued day 
after day ; in time some part of this canal is bound to give 
out and disease of some nature is the direct result. Diges- 
tion is not completed in the stomach. After the gastric 
juice has done all the good it can do, the pyloric orifice of 
the stomach opens up, and the food slowly passes into the 
small intestines and at first receives the presence of the bile 
and pancreatic juice, which emulsifies principally the fats of 
the food, but completes the digestion of the food. The 
food should now be — if properly digested — in a liquid state 
in which condition only, it can be absorbed, The many 



—31— 

thousands of little glands in the mucous lining of the 
small intestines are now engaged in absorbing or drink- 
ing up this liquid, which we will call chyle. It is thrown 
into a large duct, and from thence it is thrown directly into 
the venous circulation, thence into the heart, then to all 
parts of the body to be appropriated to every living organ 
and tissue of the body. The fluids we have mentioned above, 
acts also as a preserver of the food. Any one, or all of 
these being weakened, subjects the food to an early putre- 
faction. Man is dying at the same time he is living. This 
food which has now been absorbed and thrown to all parts 
of the living body is being transformed into many living 
tissues of the body. Nature, seemingly, abhors unused tis- 
sues in the human body. Every action or motion of the 
body destroys a certain amount of living tissue; every 
thought we think is followed by the destruction of brain 
cells, hence the body is continually decaying. While the 
blood is engaged in building up the body, it is also, with the 
lacteal system engaged in tearing down all diseased and 
unused tissue, and forcing it through the eliminative organs. 
The alimentary canal is the great sewerage of the system. 
All the waste material of the body, or nearly all is thrown 
directly by the lacteal system in this canal and should this 
system be in a healthy condition, evacuation of the bowels 
should take place at least once a day — a free evacuation. 
Constipation is usually a disease or obstruction of the large 
bowel and not necessarially of the rectum as is generally 
thought. From the researches of O 'Bierne we learn that 
the rectum in a normal condition is always empty. 
This part of the canal is endowed with a certain sensibility 
of nerve power; that in health, these nerves give notice 
of the presence of fecal matter, and there follows a desire 
to defecate. To perform this act the abdominal 
walls are working in harmony with the contraction 



—32— 

of the large intestines. In habitual constipation this 
muscular contractility of the intestines is deadened 
by over-distention of the bowel; in other words the muscular 
coat is paralyzed from the prolonged internal pres- 
sure of fecal matter. This distention is most usually due to 
a neglect to answer the calls of nature. Instead of receiv- 
ing immediate attention, which is so important to good 
health, defecation is considered a petty annoyance to be 
gotten through with as soon as possible. The sedentary 
lives many of the American people lead, and the undesirable 
closets to which hundreds of our shop-girls are compelled to 
go, else wait until they get home, and by that time the 
desire has all gone, causes constipation. This continues day 
after day, with a semi-occasional evacuation following some 
laxative.- A dangerous habit one is getting in, besides carry- 
ing around with them at least a gallon of putrid matter 
writhing with mic robes. 

The bowel being now occluded, gives rise to many 
symptoms, a few we will enumerate. A heavy weight in 
the bottom of the bowel, colicky pains and flatulency, hem- 
orrhoids, pains in head, flushed face, dull mind, palpatation 
of the heart, the bowels not moving some of the poison or 
waste matter is forced to escape through some of the other 
eliminative organs. The rectum being full also with fecal 
matter now presses against the neck of the bladder, and 
causes retention of urine. This being kept up very long 
produces cystitis and its evil results. The kidneys become 
engorged and inflamed and we will soon have a well pro- 
nounced case of Bright 's disease. Other diseases will arise 
such as rheumatism, dropsy, gout, together with symptoms 
of swelled feet and hands, puffed eyes and other symptoms 
too numerous to mention. 

The kidneys being hindered in their excretory work, 
the skin is forced to half-way do the work the kidneys 
should have done. So much of this poison thrown out 

(3) 



—33— 

through this channel produces erythema, eczema, and all 
these kindred diseases. 

Constipation causes a retardation in the circulation, 
hence an engorged and enlarged liver. The bile no longer 
is thrown into the intestines, but into the circulation, and is 
deposited in the skin, hence we have jaundice. 

We have already spoken of flatulency as a symptom of 
constipation. This gaseous condition presses upward 
against the stomach and liver, which in turn encroaches 
upon the lungs and heart, hence we have our hearts action 
impaired, and breathing much shortened. The circulation 
becomes very unequal throughout the body, and there fol- 
lows the remark so often heard, "I have such a tired feeling. 
My head aches. My mind wont work good. I just feel of 
no account all over." The above symptoms let alone, pro- 
duces in woman the much talked of female weaknesses, for 
the simple reason these organs are trying to eliminate from 
the body this pent up poison: In man it produces 'seminal 
weakness and lost manhood. 



—34— 
LESSON VI. 

THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN DURING NATURAL SLEEP. 

Since I have already at hand two most excellent articles 
by two of the best authorities in the land on this subject, I 
deem it sufficient to simply insert them here. The first is 
by Sidney Flower L. L. D. of Chicago, and the second by 
Dr. Robert Sheerin, of Cleveland Ohio which are as follows. 
Dr. Fowler says: 

"This subject having been already made familiar to 
readers of the Suggester and Thinker, I can, perhaps, more 
profitably employ the space granted to this article in the 
discussion of the distinction existing between natural and 
induced sleep, and in an explanation of the reasonableness 
of the doctrine that suggestive treatment may be effectively 
given during natural sleep. 

The editor's article in the September number of this 
magazine made plain the manner in which the suggestion 
should be given during natural sleep, and leaves me some- 
thing to say regarding the theory of treatment. 

Induced sleep and natural sleep are the same, yet not 
the same. There is one important point of distinction be- 
tween these two states. 

It is the law of natural sleep that the sleeper is in rela- 
tionship with himself alone. 

It is the law of induced sleep that the sleeper is in rela- 
tionship with the operator. 

During natural sleep the patient is inattentive ; during 
induced sleep he is attentive. 

It does not weaken this position to admit that 
there are exceptions in both cases ; that sometimes 
the person who has passed into a state of nat- 
ural sleep enter spontaneous into relationship with 



-35— 

others, as in those cases where sleepers may be drawn 
into conversation by cautious speech ; or, that it oc- 
casionally happens that the person who has been put to 
sleep by the operator passes from a condition of attention to 
one of inattention. The law holds good, in spite of these 
exceptions, and with a proper understanding of the law 
firmly held, we can appreciate the fact that natual sleep 
may, under proper guidance, change from a condition of in- 
attention into a condition of attention. 

We now go a step further and assert that unless the 
sleeper becomes attentive, suggestive treatment in natural 
sleep is ineffective and useless. The operator must be as- 
sured by word of mouth that the sleeper is no longer busied 
with his own fancies and dream pictures. He must be as- 
sured that suggestions are not only heard, but are obeyed, 
realized, become fact, in the sleeper's mind. There is an 
easy way by which the operator may satisfy himself that 
what he says will not only be heard but heeded by the 
sleeper, viz. : After receiving a response from the lips of the 
sleeper, the operator should take hold of the hand lying 
nearest to him and raise the arm of the sleeper, say, " Your 
arm will stay in the position in which I will place it. It 
will not feel fatigued. It will stay where it is put. " Hold 
the arm in the air for a few seconds, repeating these sug- 
gestions, and then let go. If it stays as put, the sleeper 's 
attention is fixed upon the operator. If it falls, there is a 
condition of weariness present which prevents the sugges- 
tion from taking firm hold of the mind, and other sugges- 
tions given will be equally ineffective. Therefore it is well 
to repeat this experiment, and the suggestions given, until 
the fixation of the arm in the air attests the fixation of the 
attention of the sleeper. When this occurs, the sleeper has 
passed into the same mental condition as prevails during in- 
duced sleep, i. e., he is in relationship with the operator. 



Now he both hears and heeds. 

Why is it that suggestions thus given have a power 
which is denied the same suggestions given to the same per- 
son while the latter is in his waking state? Simply because 
the auto-suggestion or opposing thought of the sleeper is in 
abeyance. Criticism is absent. The operator secures at- 
tention, passivity, and receptivity. The mind of the sleeper 
is more plastic because of the absence of critical thought 
plus the full attention given to the operator. Note here the 
Law of Education. 

Education is effective when this condition of mind pre- 
vails in the waking man, i. e., when the person being taught 
gives his whole attention to the lesson and checks his auto- 
suggestions, he becomes receptive to the lesson. So in 
sleep, the person to be impressed by the suggestion must be 
attentive to the operator. Suggestive treatment is educa- 
tional treatment most favorably applied. Sleep is not a 
necessity in this work, but it is a powerful assistance, and 
we should at all times endeavor to induce sleep, that the 
mind of the person to be treated may be as wax to receive 
impressions. The success of a suggestion depends upon the 
depth of the impression made upon the mind of the recip- 
ient. Sleep favors the making of a deep impression, there- 
fore sleep favors success. 

Of all methods of treating bad habits in children, there 
is none that can compare with this, since it puts in the 
hands of the parents themselves the means whereby their 
children may be reclaimed or improved." 

Dr. Sheerim says : 

"I maintain with others, that evil is not a natural heri- 
tage of the child, and its presence merely indicates an ignor- 
ance of good, or absence of right thought.* ' 



—37— 

Good and evil thoughts are acquired or suggested and 
not inherited; and as we are all prone to accept the good, 
there must be something radically wrong in our modes of 
correcting misdemeanor. That relic of barbarism, corporal 
punishment, is the bane of childhood days, causing in child- 
ren many bad habits and sins. It invariably drives the 
wrong way. 

The harsh and cruel parent resorts to corporal punish- 
ment more as an outlet for their wrath, than for the refor- 
mation of the child. Such harsh treatment as some child- 
ren get, embitters their whole childhood 6.8bjs. They are 
driven to seek some way of escaping the awful ordeal of 
punishment as meted out to them by ill-tempered parents, 
and like all other activities of nature, they follow the line of 
least resistance, learning such bad habits as lying, stealing, 
cheating, etc. 

One would think a mother's instinct of self-interest would 
prevent her from harboring and giving vent to rage. She 
should remember that anger and hatred, though temporari- 
ly indulged and quickly sped, are thoughts which leave 
behind them scars in the flesh as deep and painful as those 
inflicted by the rod upon the helpless child. 

Mothers should also consider what their little ones 
might think of them and their treatment; for be it remem- 
bered that all that the child is — his character, his habits, 
likes and dislikes — are the results of his thoughts. 

Now there is one other popular form of correcting mis- 
demeanor, which is almost as brutal as corporal punishment, 
and that is ' 'scolding. ' ' 

"When you call your children lazy, you implant the idea of 
laziness and make laggards of them. If you call them liars 
and thieves, and punish them for the same, you are insinuat- 



—38— 

ing and beating into them the habit of deceit and theft. If you 
call your boy a wild scamp, ' ' a liar and good for nothing, ' ' 
etc., you should expect him to be nothing more than that, 
for all these things are most forcible suggestions which 
drive the way they are sent. 

The remedy lies, not in admonishing or scolding him 
for wrong doing, but in holding up to him the picture of his 
better nature or self. Give him to understand that his evil 
ways are not natural with him ; that he has pr oneness for 
sticking to the truth, because his better self is his stronger 
self ; and that, therefore, it is not in him to do or say any 
evil thing. 

If he is dull of perception or inattentive to study, do 
not call him a dunce, but let him know that you think him 
as bright and attentive to studies as any of his classmates ; 
that he has as much power of concentration and application 
in him as any of them. Give him these suggestions in a 
most positive manner and very persistently, day after day. 
Should you fail to reach him in this manner, then resort to 
suggestion during natural or hypnotic sleep. These are the 
most powerful suggestions that can be made. They reach 
and impress the subjective mind ; which all objective means 
of educating the child fail to do ; and this is of greatest im- 
portance where any deep-rooted habit or evil is to be re- 
moved. A child, though born into this world almost en- 
tirely subjective in nature, soon develops objectivity ; and in 
order to reach his subjective mind, pure and simple, we 
must either reach him during natural sleep, when his ob- 
jective mind or faculties are in obeyance, or, hypnotize him, 
when we get the same conditions. 

Now, as I wrote in our July number, though it is the 
popular belief that a sleeping person is, for the time being, 
dead to the world, such is not the case. The objective is 
the only mind which may be entirely unconscious of what is 
taking place about you, but the subjective mind never sleeps. 



—39— 

It can be communicated with at all times, but, at no time so 
well as when the objective mind is quiescent or held in 
abeyance, which is the case in natural or hypnotic sleep. 

Now, why do we wish to reach the subjective mind, and 
why is it that an idea suggested during sleep should have 
more weight than the same idea impressed upon the waking 
or objective mind? Because the subjective mind has com- 
plete control of the functions and conditions of the body, 
and is preeminently susceptible to suggestions when not 
hampered by the objective mind. This knowledge of the 
extreme alertness and susceptibility of the subjective mind, 
should lead us to be careful of all that we say in the pres- 
ence of a sleeper. 

There is no diffusion of attention in sleep, and the con- 
sciousness is narrowed down to a point of concentration 
rarely arrived at during the waking state. This explains 
why suggestions in this state become so intensified and 
make such a lasting impression. 

Now, it is well known that our dreams are influenced by 
our thoughts on going to bed, and we act out these thoughts 
or suggestion, either in a real or imaginary w T ay, by speech, 
act or dream. We are, therefore, generally in partial rela- 
tionship with the objective life, and it is not difficult to es- 
tablish a full relationship without interrupting sleep. Fol- 
lowing out this idea, I have practiced for several years the 
following method of placing myself in relationship with 
patients who proved refractory to the usual methods of hyp- 
notization : I have had patients come to my sanitarium, or I 
go to their homes for the purpose, and before they retire for 
the night, I say to them : 

"Tonight I shall come to your bedside, talk quietly to 



—40— 

you and yon will hear and give answer without being dis- 
turbed or awakened. You must go to sleep with the self- 
determination and affirmation that you will sleep through 
it all and obey my suggestions to the letter." 

This same method may be couched in simpler language 
and used by the mother as a preliminary preparation for her 
child, whom she desires to treat in this manner. 

When you have made all preparations and find that the 
child is fast asleep, go and quietly seat yourself by his side. 
Gently stroke his head and body, and as quietly and softly 
call him by name (not in a whisper, which is a rasping 
sound ) but in distinct, clear tones, saying : 

' ' This is mamma come to keep her promise and talk to 
you. You will sleep on and not try to wake. You hear my 
voice which sounds pleasant to you, and you will answer 
me without waking. You are sound asleep, perfectly com- 
fortable and most happy to lie there listening and talking 
to mamma. Now, I press my lips to yours and you may 
speak freely and easily. Do you hear me, (name)? Ans- 
wer me, yes. " 

The child may at first stir uneasily, or open his eyes; 
but it is only necessary to make several attempts before 
success is yours. Then give the suggestions as indicated in 
the case iu hand. Have your child promise what you wish 
him to do or be, and he will invariably keep his promise. 
On waking in the morning; he will have forgotten all that 
was done or said, but you will find that your suggestions 
have become a part of him and that he is living them out. 

Do not forget that thoughts are things and that they 
can be willed into the child's dreams, and be made a part of 
him as well as the spoken suggestion. As you form in your 



—41— 

mind what to say in treating a case, let your will be em- 
ployed in projecting these selfsame thoughts into the mind 
of your patient. 

This method of suggestive education has been in prac- 
tice at the Cleveland School of Suggestive Therapeutics 
since January, 1897, with no failures to report. Parents 
have learned the method of us, and when such was put in 
practice by them, a greater degree of harmony and pleas- 
antness existed between them and their offspring. " 



-42— 
LESSON VII. 

AUTO-SUGGESTION. 

The most important branch of Suggestive or Psycho 
Therapeutics is yet to be discussed. It has already been 
shown that the subjective mind of an individual is constantly 
controlled by the suggestions of his own objective mind. 
This is the normal relation of the two minds ; and when that 
control ceases, the person is insane just in proportion to the 
degree in which the objective mind has abdicated its func- 
tions. This control is ordinarily exercised unconsciously to 
the individual. That is to say, we do not ordinarily recognize 
the operation of the two minds, for the simple reason that we 
do not stop to philosophize upon the subject of their mutual 
relations. It is auto-suggestion that fills our asylums with 
mono-maniacs. That long continued and persistent dwelling 
upon a single idea often results in chronic hallucinations is 
a fact within the knowledge of every student of mental 
science. This question is mentioned here to illustrate the 
power and potency of auto-suggestion, even when the sug- 
gestion is against the evidence of reason and sense. It 
must not be forgotten that an auto-suggestion which pro- 
duces a hallucination such as is the case many times, oper- 
ates on the lines of strongest resistance in nature. If, there- 
fore, such results can be produced when opposed by the 
strongest instincts of our nature, how much easier must it 
be to produce equally wonderful results when operating in 
harmony with those instincts, and, hence, on the lines of 
least resistance. It is self evidence, therefore, that auto- 
suggestion can be employed to great advantage for thera- 
peutic purposes. Indeed, the power of self help is the 
most important part of mental therapeutics. Without it the 
science is of comparatively little value or benefit to man- 
kind. With it goes the power to resist disease, to prevent 
sickness, as well as to cure it. That it can be done by 



—43— 

any one of ordinary intelligence, is a fact which has been 
demonstrated beyond question. The process by which it 
can be done is as simple as the laws which govern the sub- 
ject matter. The student should bear in mind the funda- 
mental principles which lie at the foundation of mental 
therapeutics. 

1. The subjective mind exercises complete control over 
the functions and sensations of the body. 

2. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to con- 
trol by the suggestion of the objective mind. 

3. These two propositions being true, says Mr. Hud- 
son, "the conclusion is obvious, that the functions and sen- 
sations of the body can be controlled by suggestions of the 
objective mind." 

The whole science of psycho-therapeutics is embraced 
in the foregoing propositions. They contain all that a pa- 
tient, who undertakes to heal himself, or ward off the en- 
croachments of disease needs to know. To give a few gen- 
eral suggestions on how to apply auto-suggestion, I will use 
the words of Mr. Hudson again on this subject: " We will 
take for illustration a simple case of nervous headache, and 
suppose that the patient resolves to cure himself. He must, 
first of all, remember that the subjective mind is to be treated 
specially as though it were a separate and distinct entity. 
The suggestion must first be made that the headache is 
about to cease ; then that is already ceasing ; and finally, 
that it has ceased. These suggestions should be made in 
the form of spoken words, and they should be steadily per- 
sisted in until the desired effect is produced. A constant 
reiteration of the declaration that the head is better will in- 
evitably produce the desired result, and when the effect is 
distinctly felt, the declaration should be boldly made that 
the pain has entirely ceased. This should be followed by 



—44— 

the declaration that there will be no return of the symptoms ; 
and this should be made with an air, tone, and feeling of 
perfect confidence. The only practical difficulty in the 
way of success with a beginner lies in the fact that at first 
he lacks confidence. The education of his whole life has 
been such as to cause him to look with distrust upon any 
but material remedies, and there is a disinclination to per- 
sist in his efforts. If he has the strength of will to persist 
until he is cured, he will find that the next time that he tries 
it, there will be much less resistance to overcome. Having 
once triumphed, the reasoning of his objective mind no longer 
interposes itself as an obstruction, but concurs in the truth 
of his suggestions. He then possesses both objective and sub- 
jective faith in his powers, and he finds himself operating 
on a line of no resistance whatever. When he has attained 
this point, the rest is easy ; and he will eventually be able 
to effect an instantaneous cure of his headache, or any other 
pain, the moment he finds himself threatened with one. 
These remarks apply of course, to every disease amenable 
to control by mental processes. It is believed that the few 
simple rules herein laid down will enable anyone of ordinary 
intelligence to become proficient, by a little practice, to the 
science of self-healing. It is not a mere theory, without 
practice, which has been here developed. It has been de- 
monstrated over and over again to be eminently practical, 
not only as a means of healing disease, but as a means of 
warding off its encroachments. Indeed, its chief value will 
eventually be found to consist in the almost ultimate power 
which it gives one to protect himself from contracting disease. 
To do that it is only necessary to hold ones self in the men- 
tal attitude of denying the power of disease to obtain the 
mastery over him. When the patient recognizes the 
first symptoms of approaching illness, he should 



—45— 

at once commence a vigorous course of therapeutic auto- 
suggestion. He will find prevention much easier than cure; 
and by persistently following such a course he will soon dis- 
cover that he possesses a perfect mastery over his own 
health." 

Since no cure is ever effected without the aid of auto- or 
self suggestion, it is well that the method of applying this 
force be fully understood. 

When you wish to treat yourself, withdraw to some 
quiet place where you can be alone and remain undisturbed. 
Place yourself in an easy chair, or better still, in a recum- 
bent position upon a bed or lounge : closing your eyes, com- 
pletely relaxing the tension of your muscles and making 
yourself as comfortable as possible. Following this, try to 
make yourself inwardly still, leaving your fears, cares and 
worries behind you as you enter your retreat. This may be 
difficult at first, but keep on trying a few days and success 
will be yours. 

You will find that concentration is the key to this power, 
and your success in this mode of healing will depend upon 
your ability to concentrate your thoughts on the object de- 
sired. Sleep should be your first desire, for in that condi- 
tion the objective or waking mind is held in abeyance, and 
the subjective mind has complete control of the functions 
and conditions of the body ; receiving and acting upon sug- 
gestions without meeting with opposition from any source. 
The best method, therefore, is to talk to and treat yourself 
precisely as you would talk to and treat another. Consider 
yourself as a duality, i. e. , as consisting of two conscious, 
intelligent personalities or minds — an objective or waking 
and a subjective or sub-conscious mind, if you please — and 
let your objective assert, with confidence, to your subjective 
personality, that you feel an easy, peaceful, and sleepy sen- 



—46— 

sation coming all over your body. That your eyes are get- 
ting tired ; the eye-lids too heavy to lift ; that you are feel- 
ing so heavy and sleepy, sleepy, « etc.; that you are going 
to sleep, etc. Intermingle with these suggestions the posi- 
tive affirmation that your disorder ( calling it by name ) is 
about to leave ; it's already leaving you ; that health and 
strength is returning to you ; that the good effects will be 
permanent, etc. 

Believe in your power as supreme commander, and that 
your commands will be hearkened to and obeyed. Constantly 
impress on this subjective personality, thoughts of perfec- 
tion in health, until these thoughts become outwardly ex- 
pressed in the flesh. 

If possible, learn the anatomy and physiology of the 
parts yon desire to treat, as they are in health ; form in 
your mind their ideal and concentrate your thoughts on the 
same, with the wish and belief that such will be realized in 
the flesh. Try this every day, or as often as possible. 

There are external aids to the above methods, such as 
crystals or other shining objects ; the Magic Hypnotizer is 
the best instrument of the kind. By steadily gazing at the 
same, one is enabled to keep his thoughts from wandering ; 
to assist materially in bringing about the desired physio- 
logical and psychological conditions. 

This self treatment, my friends, will also do you good 
service in bringing to your mind a realization of its author- 
ity over matter ; of the proper relation of mind and body. 
We are all apt to forget the supremacy of mind and credit 
matter with too much power. 

Do not wait until you are sick before taking up this 
practice. Commence while in good health, and when sick- 
ness comes you will find yourself fortified and able to throw 



—47— 

off disease with little effort. If you have some friend in 
whom you have confidence, permit him to give you the 
needed suggestion and the cure will be materially expe- 
dited. 

Do not be afraid of failure to awaken. If not interfered 
with you would simply sleep until rested ; but should you 
wish to awaken in ten or twenty minutes, it is only necessary 
to give yourself the pre -hypnotic suggestion to do so, and 
you will waken at the desired moment. You have, proba- 
bly, aroused yourself in this wise before, when wishing to 
make an early start on a journey. 



—48— 
LESSON VIII. 

DISEASES AND HOW TO TREAT THEM. 

In another chapter we have pointed out the cause of 
most diseases, and we will now give our mode of applying 
suggestion to the different classes of disease. Before be- 
ginning to treat any disease, however, there are a few very 
important -points to be remembered in the application of 
suggestion. 

First — There should be a desire on the part of the patient, 
as it is difficult to accomplish much without it. 

Second — Expectation is another necessary element. 

Third — Attention, must be had, and these will all apply 
in inducing the subjective state (hypnosis. ) 

Fourth — Repetition, without this factor you will fail to 
get satisfactory results. 

Fifth — Frequency . 

A. little explanation will perhaps help the student to see 
the imperative necessity of these five factors. It is a well 
known fact that many times a person will become possessed 
of a desire to die, this desire grows into a conviction that he 
is going to die, and harboring this conviction, he does die, 
and all the medical skill in the land can not save him. I 
have known of several just such cases. By proper sugges- 
tion under favorable conditions, we can sometimes drive 
away all these depressing fears, increase desire, excite ex- 
pectation, inspire with hope, and lift people from conditions 
of despair and distress, poverty and want, exhaustion and 
disease, and start them to living a new life. Expectation or 
faith, while a very necessary element in the ultimate cure of 
disease, yet in the " suggestible condition" can be induced, 
a patient who has no objective faith can be given faith which 
will increase as the recovery begins. It will be seen at once 
how important it is to have the attention of the patient ; you 
can not hypnotize without attention, nor will your Sugges- 
ts 



—49— 

tions be accepted unless you have it completely. 

Repetition and frequency is of vast import, as any one 
who has ever tried to commit to memory a poem or essay 
can testify. We say a thing until it is so fastened on our 
minds that we could not forget it if we would. The distinc- 
tion between repetition and frequency is this, we repeat a 
thing several times, then pass to something else, and finally 
return and repeat the same thing over and over frequently. 
The student will see this more clearly in some of the detailed 
cases of making suggestions which will follow in this lesson. 

Constipation. 

Since, as we have shown in a former chapter, constipa- 
tion causes more difficulties than perhaps any other one 
thing, we will here give in detail how it should be treated. 
Most people who suffer from constipation drink too little 
water, while others may drink too much. Very often it 
results from not having attended to the calls of nature. In 
the first case the lack of fluids stints the secretions of the 
body. 

In the second case, too much fluid causes an abnormal 
activity of the kidneys and the whole force of elimination 
seems to be drawn in that direction. In the third case, if the 
bowels are not emptied at the- proper time, re- absorption of 
the fluid constituents of the fecal matter takes place and 
hardened stools are the results. 

"When Nature calls at either door, 

Do not attempt to bluff her, 
But haste away, at night or day, 
Or health is sure to suffer. ' ' 

Ingestion of food, its digestion and assimilation, are 
universally recognized as essential ; but necessity of 
thorough elimination of waste is not so generally under- 
stood, the result of which is much ill-defined, though serious 
invalidism brought on through an inexcusable disregard of 



—50— 

one of the most important calls of Nature. On this point a 
valuable lesson might be derived from the brute creation, 
whose frequent daily observances of this kind, irrespective 
of circumstances, are well known, and are a sufficient 
commentary on the significance of the call, for animal 
instinct seldom proves false to physical laws. Even the 
infant has no restriction whatever, and, when in a normal 
condition, has upon an average of three passages perdiem. 
There is no doubt that many of the ills of human life may be 
traced directly to constipation, which, if long continued, in- 
troduces a train of symptoms that present themselves for 
relief in the daily practice Of every physician ; nor does he 
find any one cause of ill health so difficult of removal, for its 
effects in turn become causes that continually react upon 
and aggravate its own condition, 

Now to treat a case of constipation, first instruct him in 
regard to the amount of fluids he should drink daily. Find 
out about how much he has been in the habit of drinking 
every twenty-four hours. Instruct him to drink four or five 
pints of fluids per day, and in small quantities, and to think 
every time he takes a drink what it is for, that it is to 
furnish secretion and to keep the bowels open. Now place 
your patient in a recumbant posture, on a couch or bed if 
convenient, induce a hypnosis by making the long passes 
from head to foot, and then proceed to make your sugges- 
tions in something like the following manner. "You are 
now in a very quiet, easy and comfortable condition. You 
are breathing free and easy and deep. Your nervous sys- 
tem is coming into perfect harmony. You are now relaxed 
from head to foot. You have been troubled with constipa- 
tion, but you will be troubled no more. As you take this 
attitude and relax yourself from head to foot, and breathe 
free and deep, every function of your body comes in harmony 
with each other. Under this relaxed condition, as you 



—51— 

breathe free and deep, you not only purify your blood with 
the oxygen breathed into your lungs, but you equalize the 
circulation of the blood, and stimulate all the organs of 
your body to activity. There is no contraction or concen- 
tration of the nerves of the stomach, and the secretions will 
improve. You will drink plenty of fluids daily which will 
furnish secretions. Your bowels will move regularly every 
day free and easy, and you will not be bothered any more 
with constipation. ' ' Here the operator should begin a light 
massage of the abdoman, first down the centre from the pit 
of the stomach to the lower part of the abdoman ; and then 
follow the ascending colon up the right side and across the 
top next to the stomach and down the decending colon to 
the sigmoid flexure. This can be done over the clothing, 
and at the same time keeping up your suggestions some- 
thing like the above. It might be well to ask your patient 
when the most convient time is to attend to the evacuation 
of the bowels, and then suggest very positively that they 
would move at that time. If the patient is a good hypnotic 
subject you can heighten your suggestion by taking a swal- 
low of water and give him, assuring him that it is a purga- 
tive and will move his bowels at the appointed time. If for 
any reason you should fail to move them in two or three 
days have him use a glycerine suppository or an enema, 
( injection. ) 

Diarrhoea. 

About the only difference in the treatment of diarrhoea 
and constipation is that sometimes it is best for the patient 
to eat rather moderately for a few days after commencing 
the treatment. This I know will seem rather strange to 
some, when one is directly opposite the other. A moments 
reflection, however, will show very clearly that disease is 
an abnormal condition, and all any one can do is to 
get a normal condition, The same thing that causes con- 
stipation causes diarrhoea, undigested food in the bowels 



—52— 

acting as an irritant. Stop the irritation by producing a 
normal condition of the stomach and bowels and you will 
stop the diarrhoea. Make about the same kind of sugges- 
tions, using gentle massage the same as in constipation. 

Asthma. 

In the treatment of any case we should never make a 
doubtful speech. Negative suggestions are permissible, but 
affirmations are better. For example we may say, " The 
pain is leaving your face ; the pain is going away from your 
face ; the pain is now all gone from your face," etc. But we 
might say, ' ' Your face will soon feel easy and comfortable ; 
your face is already feeling more comfortable ; your face is 
feeling perfectly well, easy and quiet, perfectly well." Our 
suggestions should be as free from ideas of painful or dis- 
eased conditions as possible. Think about the condition you 
really want, then form your suggestions of such words as 
will clearly express your wants. In the above case what did 
we want ? You infer from the suggestions made that the 
patient was suffering from pain in some part of the face. Well, 
if this be the case we want an easy comfortable condition, do 
we not ? Then what should we say ? Is it necessary that we 
should refer to the pain in order that the patient shall have 
comfort ? No. Never mind the pain, it is only a negative 
condition, and we ignore it, and go on and demand what we 
want — an easy comfortable condition, and we get it. Now 
these are hints that may serve us in any case, no matter 
what it may be. I have a case of asthma. My patient is 
breathing with great difficulty. He seems to be able to take 
in all the breath required, but while the effort of inspiration 
is comparatively easy, expiration labors him very much, 
and he really suffers great distress on account of his diffi- 



—53— 

cult breathing. There is a spasmodic condition of the 
bronchial tubes, the air cells are filled to repletion, the pa- 
tient perspires freely, and he complains of pain and distress 
in his breast. What do we want ? What does the patient 
want? The patient would like to have free and easy 
breathing. Then we will suggest to him that he will soon 
become quiet, that he will breathe free and easy ; that he 
will be able to breathe free and easy all day, every day, and 
that he will be perfectly well. These suggestions should be 
made over and over to him, for there is a mighty force in 
repetition and frequency ; and if we forcibly impress the 
suggestions above made, no matter how severe the dis- 
tress, how violent and spasmodic the cough, the patient will 
relax, and will finally go into a quiet, sound sleep. So far 
as my experience goes, there is no treatment in use equal to 
suggestion in all cases of asthma, either acute or chronic ; 
and we depend upon it as a radical cure, as well as a meas- 
ure of temporary or immediate relief. 

Consumption. 

Here comes a man who thinks he has consumption ; 
everybody says he has it, and he really looks like he might 
have it sure enough. He is lean, lank, has a cadaverous look, 
breathes rapidly, coughs almost incessantly, pulse frequent 
and heart impulse very weak, shoulders stooped, finger 
nails clubbed, and in fact he appears to have all the symp- 
toms of consumption. His appetite is poor, digestion feeble, 
and he appropriates but little, of what he eats. He has been 
sick for several years, has tried all kinds of medicines and 
doctors, and now comes here for suggestion. 

Now let us take a glance at the wants of this patient, 
and then we can formulate suggestions to suit his case. We 
place him in a recumbent posture, have him close his eyes, 
and then make long passes over his body from head to 
foot, and as we make these passes we suggest that he 
is getting more quiet and comfortable ; that his pulse 



—54— 

are going slower, and that he is breathing free and easy. 
We make the long passes over him that he may realize 
that something is being done for him : and let me remark 
right here that no matter how nervous and disturbed any 
patient may be, and no difference what disease he may be 
suffering from, if you will place him in a recumbent pos- 
ture, have him close his eyes and make long passes over 
him from head to foot, he will soon feel the quieting influ- 
ence coming from the effort especially if you suggest that 
he is becoming quiet and restful. You may ask what good 
comes from passes? Well you may think as you please 
about that, but that good results follow I do know. I am 
quite sure however, that suggestion — thought force — does 
it all. What I mean to say is that no physical change 
results from the passes, but that they may enable us to pro- 
ject thought more directly and forcibly, and that they may 
prepare the patient to receive them more readily and with 
greater effect. Now, I ask the reader to weigh the above 
sentence carefully, for there is a vital point in it. It ex- 
plains or justifies all the physical efforts and manipulations 
we make in connection with verbal suggestions. A novice 
in Suggestive Therapeutics can nearly always do work 
better if he is permitted to make passes and manipulate his 
patient while he is giving him suggestions ; and it is fre- 
quently so with healers of experience ; but as we grow in 
experience, and learn that it is thought force that makes 
the changes sought, we do not depend so much upon passes 
and manipulations for results. Magnetic healers depend 
upon touches, but it is thought that heals. But now we go 
back to our patient and give him such suggestions as he re- 
quires. We again say he is breathing free and easy, and that 
he is feeling more quiet and comfortable, and go ahead with a 



—55- 

speech something like this : ' ' You are breathing free and 
easy ; breathing free and easy ; breathing free and easy ; as 
you breathe deep and strong, your chest expands, the 
bronchial tubes relax, the fresh air reaches the very extremi- 
ties of the bronchial tubes and here gives off its oxygen to 
the blood. As you thus breathe deeply you inhale health, 
for as the oxygen given off from the air in the air cells in 
your lungs reaches the blood you are at once revived ; this 
reddens and enriches your blood; invigorates your whole 
nervous system; increases your appetite; improves your 
digestion ; you appropriate more food ; you build up in 
general health and strength; your heart beats regular and 
stronger ; you have more endurance, you walk with a lighter 
step ; your eyes look brighter ; your voice is stronger ; you 
sleep and rest well ; nutrition is in excess of waste, and you 
are gaining in flesh and strength ; and you are absolutely 
better in every respect ; getting better every day ; and will 
soon be well from head to foot. You are already feeling 
better. Every function of your body is now in harmony one 
with another ; breathing well ; eating with a relish ; digest- 
ing properly, bowels regular, skin and kidneys depurating 
properly ; liver acting well ; better every way ; better every 
day ; and finally perfectly well, fat and strong. You absolu- 
tely have the force within you to throw off every negative 
condition of weakness and disease ; and to repulse all un- 
friendly or adverse suggestions that may be offered. I say 
you have the strength to overcome anything, no matter 
what it may be. Never mind what anybody says to you ; I 
say you have the power to overcome every adverse condition 
that may appear to trouble you ; all you have to learn is to 
recognize your own force, hold to the truth and you can 
overcome all difficulties. You are now doing well. You 
are now moving in the right direction. Go ahead. Good 
health is before you, and no one will realize it sooner than 
you will. " Now this is a sample of such a treatment as I 



—56— 

give patients of this kind. I go over about the same thing 
several times at the same seance or sitting, and I like to 
have such patients come often— three or four times a week 
— and if they have nothing else to do I prefer to have them 
come every day. 

LOSS OF VOICE AND MELANCHOLY. 

By Geo. C. Pitzer, M. P., 3955 W. Belle Place, St. Louis. 

Mr. H., age 48, a Christian missionary worker, came to 
see me in May 1898, suffering from loss of voice and melan- 
choly. He could not utter a single syllable louder than a 
whisper. He had been that way for eighteen months ; said 
that it came on him rather suddenly, and that he had been 
treated by some of the most skilled physicians in the coun- 
try ; had been to California for a change of climate ; and 
with all that bad been done he had gotten no better of his 
hoarseness, and that he had been losing flesh and strength 
for some weeks, possibly for two months, and was scarcely 
able to get around. He had an annoying cough, accompanied 
with a slight expectoration. Respiration was shallow and 
too rapid — not full and easy by any means, and he suffered 
from a feeling of oppression in his breast. Appetite poor 
and digestion feeble. He could not swallow well. Solids 
would sometimes choke him, and this disturbed him very 
much. He was very despondent ; had lost nearly all hope of 
ever regaining 'his health and voice. The loss of his voice 
and the idea of having to give up his temperance and 
missionary labors, which, he had chosen for his life work, 
and in which his whole mind and soul seemed to be so 
earnestly engaged, almost broke his heart. He had taken a 
lively interest in relieving the distresses of mankind, and 
his incapacitated condition, which forbade active work for 
the relief of humanity, worried him night and day. 

I examined Mr. H. very carefully, and after making up 
my mind that he had no constitutional nor local organic 



—57— 

troubles sufficient to hinder him from getting well, I very 
positively told him so. I told him that his loss of voice and 
difficulty in swallowing depended upon nervous disturbances; 
that he had no serious organic diseases ; and that I could cure 
him ; that I could restore his voice improve his appetite, 
invigorate his digestion, and that he would soon eat and 
swallow well, talk well, regain his original flesh and 
strength, and, finally make a complete recovery. He ex- 
pressed great encouragement upon hearing me say all this, 
and he commenced treatment at once. He went into a very 
comfortable and profitable state of suggestibility, and I gave 
him, in substance, the following suggestions : . 

"Mr. H., you are now comfortable and quiet. All your 
nervous forces are now coming into harmony. No nervous 
concentrations anywhere. Your heart is beating regularly ; 
respiration free and easy, and you are breathing deeper and 
stronger all the time. You are breathing deeper and 
stronger ; deeper and stronger all the time. As you breathe 
deeper and stronger you are inhaling health and vitality. 
You actually take into your lungs the elements of life and 
health every time you breathe so deeply. When you breathe 
strong and deeply, the pure air that you take into your lungs 
imparts to your blood the vitalizing oxygen which you so 
much require. More oxygen is what you need, and there is 
no way on earth by which you can get it so readily, so 
plentifully and so pure as you can by deep breathing. As 
you breath deeply the pure air reaches all parts of your lungs, 
and gives off its oxygen in large quantities to your blood. This 
refreshes you. It reddens and strengthens your blood ; in- 
vigorates digestion, and builds you up in every way. 
Strong deep and easy breathing is what you need. Breathe 
strong and deeply. You are already breathing deeper and 



—58— 

stronger, breathing deeper and stronger all the time, every- 
day, and you will breathe deeper and stronger every day. 
This will build you up, and you will rapidly gain in flesh 
and strength. You will sleep and rest well, eat well, 
swallow well, and talk well. As you breathe deeper and 
stronger every day, you will regain your general health and 
original vigor. Your vocal chords will properly vibrate, 
your voice will return, and you will talk well, talk loud, 
feel well, and you will again be cheerful, hopeful and happy. 
You are already breathing deeper and stronger, and I can 
see a bright future for you. You will soon be well again. 
You may make new plans for your life work, for, absolutely 
you will soon be well again, and you will be able to do more 
effective work than ever before in your life. As you breathe 
deeper and stronger every day, you inhale health and vi- 
tality ; you eat well swallow and digest well, build up in 
strength and body and mind ; your voice grows stronger 
every day, you talk well, look well, feel well, and will soon 
be well, well from head to foot. Not only so, but when you 
are well again you will be better prepared to do public work 
than ever before. Absolutely you will be reinforced, physi- 
cally and spiritually, in such a manner as to be able to con- 
trol people and audiences in a way that you could never so 
effectively do before. The best and most successful part of 
your life is before you. Place your whole mind upon your 
cherished life work, and at once begin to make new plans 
for your labors, for you will soon be able to resume them 
with renewed energies and greatly enlarged spiritual 
powers. You are now feeling well, breathing free and 
easy, all the functions of your body in perfect harmony, and 
you will feel well all day. You will sleep and rest well, rise 
in the morning feeling refreshed and invigorated, eat with a 
keen relish, swallow well, digest well, breathe deeper and 



—59— 

stronger every day, talk well, look well, and feel well till 
perfect conditions of health are enjoyed. Now when you 
wake up you will feel well, comfortable, easy and quiet. 
When you retire tonight you will go to sleep with these 
memories : Now I lay me down to sleep. I will sleep well 
tonight, and I will rest well. My subjective entity or soul 
will take care of my physical condition while I sleep. I now 
forget the cares, of the day, and go to sleep, and I will sleep 
well and rest well all night. When I rise in the morning I 
will feel refreshed and invigorated, eat breakfast with a 
keen relish, swallow well, will digest well, breathe freely 
and deeply, and will have a good day. Now I go to sleep. 

' 1 1 say these are the memories you will retire with to- 
night, and you cannot forget them. Now you are feeling 
well, easy and quiet, breathing free and easy, and you will 
feel well all day, and better every day till perfect conditions 
of health are reached. Now you may open your eyes and 
wake up." 

I will not enlarge upon the treatment of this case. The 
reader can plainly see the leading thoughts that I presented 
to him, and how I led him away from his old conditions of 
weakness and despair, and made him see brightness and 
sunshine from morning till night, and from night till morn- 
ing. I repeated the above speeches to him every day, mak- 
ing them more of a hopeful character as he improved. For 
example, as he began to feel, look and talk a little better, I 
would say to him, ' ' You are looking better, feeling better, 
talking better, improving every way. You now realize that 
you have risen above all negative conditions of weakness, 
disease and despair ; that you are now living upon a differ- 
ent plane, breathing an atmosphere heavily laden with 
hope, independence, freedom, and courage. As you breathe 



—60— 

stronger every day, and hear yourself talking aloud again, 
you see and realize that health and strength are coming, 
and it is so. Go on ! Make your plans for future work. 
Health and strength are coining, absolutely coming, and you 
can look ahead to perfect conditions of health, eating well, 
swallowing well, sleeping well, talking well, feeling well, 
looking well, and actually well from head to foot. " 

Mr. H. improved from the very first. He now talks 
well, and every organ and function of the body are in per- 
fect harmony. He is feeling well, hopeful, cheerful, and 
happy, preparing for new and renewed efforts at his cher- 
ished life labors — orphan home and missionary work. 

In treating patients by suggestion, it should be our aim 
to find out the " besetting sin " of each patient— the thought 
or environment that was instrumental in prostrating him, 
and then, as rapidly as possible, carry him away from that 
thought or condition, and keep him away from it, by contin- 
ually occupying his mind with hopeful thoughts and condi- 
tions that are uplifting, refreshing and healing in their 
nature. 

Many of our patients incapacitate themselves by worry- 
ing over their own ills, or their financial conditions, while 
some are found to be suffering from the results of sympathy 
for other people. They see so many sick and suffering men, 
women and children ; their hearts go out after them, and 
they worry themselves over them till they are sick. This is 
very wrong ; it is a mistake. People should not permit the 
misfortunes or miseries of others to disturb or distress them 
so seriously, for this can only harm them, and can in no way 
benefit those with whom they sympathize. We should do 
all we can to relieve the sufferings and wants of people, and 
rejoice in the thought that we have had the opportunity to 
help them. We should be glad that we had the pleasure of 
giving them a kind word and something to eat and wear, 



—61— 

and take comfort from the remembrance of the brightness 
that came to their faces while they listened to our encourag- 
ing words and accepted our substantial aid. We should not 
worry over them, but be happy to think that they went away 
from us more comfortable and happy than when they came 
to us. 

It requires a little study of each patieut in order to 
secure the best results in the practice of suggestion ; but 
careful observation and experience will enable anyone of 
ordinary intelligence and skill to make marvelous cures by 
suggestion ; to help many poor dejected, mortals from the 
very depths of degradation and despair, and place them upon 
a plane of life where they may enjoy the freedom of health 
and good morals, a pleasure to their friends and an honor 
and blessing to their families." 

Nervous and Mental Troubles. 

Mental troubles, such as fears, delusions, melancholia, 
hallucinations and insanity are seldom ever found in well 
nourished individuals, for the reason that they are in a posi- 
tion to throw them off. Every person is likely at times to 
have worry, grief, etc., but they seldom get fixed unless 
nutrition is neglected. Reason is a brain function, and is 
lessened as the nutrition to the brain is diminished. While 
one's reasoning faculties are good, he has the power to put 
away all involuntary thoughts that may intrude themselves 
upon him ; but if he permits himself to run down physically, 
when worry or mental troubles commence, he is likely to find 
himself in a deplorable mental and physical condition. All 
mental troubles, except those due to injury of the brain, or 
some actual organic destruction, I believe may be cured by 
proper suggestive treatment, if persisted in. In over com- 
ing insanity and all mental troubles, the nutrition of the 
brain must be the first thing attended to. As you increase 
nutrition, the reason increases, and reason is a powerful 



—62— 

factor, without which you will accomplish but little. See 
that the organs of elimination are active and normal. Work 
up the appetite, and increase the amount of food consumed 
daily ; see that plenty of fluids are used to furnish the neces- 
sary secretions. Lower the head once or twice a day, for 
three or four minutes each and manipulate the muscles of 
the neck and massage the head while in this position, 
suggesting all the time to your patient the benefits to be 
derived ; that it brings the blood to the head, and increases 
nutrition to the brain. In order to give the student an idea 
of the suggestive treatment to follow in cases of this char- 
acter, I will give a descriptive detail of one treated at this 
school. 

On Oct. 9th., 1899, a married lady twenty-six years of 
age, and weighing 113 pounds, came here for treatment for 
mental troubles, consisting of some very unwelcome 
thoughts that persisted in harrassing her continually. She 
was a lady of an excellent family, and a model character. 
But she had run down physically, did not sleep good, and 
was badly constipated, besides having some functional 
difficulties peculiar to women, but not of a serious character. 
While in this condition she attended a revival, where the 
evangelist, (who ought to have had some old woman taught 
him the way of the Lord more perfectly, ) continually harped 
on "predestination," and " the unpardonable sin." The 
lady got to worrying over these things, and not strong 
enough physically to throw them off, they fixed themselves 
on her mind, and with these thoughts of having committed 
the unpardonable sin as a premise, her reasoning now being 
deductive, the logical conclusion would inevitably be that 
God was wicked, and that she herself was the chief of 
sinners. These things grew and became more fixed, as she 
continued to worry, and nutrition thus interfered with, helped 



—63— 

it along. She was perfectly rational on every other subject, 
and but for her despondent mood — for she never laughed or 
smiled — no one would have known she was undergoing such 
mental torture. It certainly is a torture for ones predomi- 
native thought while awake, and the dreams by night to be 
"predestined to be lost forever; no hope for the future ; 
nothing but hell fire awaiting me, and a wicked God who has 
ordained all this." Such thoughts as these were continually 
in her mind every waking moment, and she had no power to 
throw them off. A wise physician at her home, knew that 
medicine could not reach her case, and so recommended her 
to try suggestion. She came on the date mentioned, and 
took the first treatment in the evening of the same day. 
She could not be hypnotized, that is, her eyes could not be 
fastened so that she could not open them when she pleased. 
The student will not wonder at this, after what I have said 
of the cyclone of thoughts over which she had no control. I 
had her lie down on a couch and close her eyes, after having 
had her look at me for a few moments, then I made the long* 
passes from head to foot for about ten minutes which she 
said made her arms feel heavy, and her nerves relaxed, be- 
sides a comfortable feeling generally. I then made some- 
thing like the following suggestions, all the time keeping up 

the long passes, " Now Mrs. as I make these long passes 

you will feel a very pleasant influence all over your body. 
Your nervous system becomes very quiet. You feel drowsy 
and heavy from head to foot. You are coming more and 
more into harmony. As you breathe long and deep you 
equalize the circulation of the blood, aud stimulate every 
organ of the body. Your health has run down because of 
inactive organs of nutrition and elimination. We will restore 
harmony of the functions and you will soon regain your health 
of body and mind. As we equalize the nerve forces of your 



—64— 

body you will sleep better at nights, and as we stimulate the 
organs of secretion and digestion you will become more and 
more 'hungry. As you eat more and digest it, your nutri- 
tion becomes better, and the organs of elimination become 
more active and your bowels will move regularly every day. 
As you breathe deep you throw the health giving oxygen 
into the blood, which purines it. The kidneys become 
strong and active, and perform their functions normally, 
throwing off all impurities. You will now begin to improve 
your whole physical organism. As nutrition becomes better 
your reasoning faculties will improve, and you will soon be 
well from head to foot." After going over these sugges- 
tions several times with emphasis, harping on eat, drink 
and sleep, I had her open her eyes. I had her come twice a 
day, The morning treatment continued about as above in- 
dicated, while about the only thing I did in the afternoon 
was to lower the head, and manipulate the head and neck as 
before mentioned. She began to improve =at once. She 
would sleep most of the night, and the appetite increased 
wonderfully. She became more hopeful and cheerful, so 
that she laughed and talked as if there was nothing the 
matter. But notwithstanding all this, every cloudy day she 
would come to the office saying : ' 'She was worse than ever 
and could never get well, and had just as well go home. " 
I never got discouraged over this, nor would I entertain 
such a proposition. This was kept up for four weeks with a 
gradual improvement in all physical conditions in which she 
gained nine pounds. I allowed her to attend the evening 
session of our class several times in order that she might 
learn more of the powers of the mind to help itself. After she 
had learned to distinguish the two minds, and the functions of 
the subjective mind. I then had easier sailing. I now changed 
the morning treatment, and instead of having her lie down and 

(5) 



—65— 

shut her eyes, I had her sit up and look at me while I made 
a half -hour's talk to her, which was made with all the ear- 
nestness at my command. Remember, she was still both- 
ered with her thoughts, but they had changed somewhat. 
She now considered herself wicked for having thought such 
things of God, etc. Let me give a synopsis here of my ar- 
gument to her just at this juncture. First allow me to say 
that I had taught her the difference between inductive and 
deductive reasoning which she understood thoroughly. Ob- 
jectively she knew that the things she thought were absurd 
and untrue. Here then was my starting point in getting the 
assistance of her own auto-suggestion. "Mrs. B., you know 
these things that bother you are not true, don't you ?" 
" Yes, " she replied, "but I can't get rid of them." "Yes;" 
said I, "you can get rid of them, and I am now going to 
show you how. You are not responsible for these thoughts; 
they were thrust upon you at a time when your physical 
condition was such that you were not able to throw them off. 
They became fixed in your subjective mind, while the objec- 
tive mind had not power to resist them. Your subjective 
mind being amenable to suggestion of your objective mind, 
which is now becoming strong and able to resist these in- 
voluntary intruders, you will now exercise it in that direc- 
tion, by asserting over and over that these things are not 
true, and could not possibly be true. You see that it is the 
subjective mind reasoning by deduction that has caused all 
the trouble, and its conclusions are very logical ; but the 
premise was wrong to start with. Now with tne inductive 
mind let us do a little reasoning by first having a fact for our 
premise. First, there is no sin that one can commit that 
will not be forgiven except a denial of God and his Christ. 
You have not denied God nor his Word, therefore you have 
not committed such a sin. ' ' I here gave her several script- 



—66— 

ures to confirm what I said, all to which she consented and 
accepted with intense eagerness for me to proceed, '* Since 
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all might 
come to repentance, he is not wicked but good, isn't he ?" 
"Yes," she replied. "Well now then, if there is no unpar- 
donable sin for those who believe in God, and you have com- 
mitted no such sin, and God is good, all you have to do is to 
keep these thoughts continually pouring in on the subjective 
mind which is amenable to your own objective mind, 
and soon it will accept them, and then you will be 
bothered no more with them. ' ' This is only a very brief 
outline, along this line, but it serves to show how I engaged 
her mind to help in the matter. She at once began to im- 
prove in her reasoning faculties very rapidly. She is still 
here at this writing in her fifth week, and will in another 
week go home to her husband, stronger in body than she has 
been for years, and all her mental troubles will only be re- 
membered as a hideous dream. 

The student will observe that but little attention was 
paid to the thinker until after the organ of thought had re- 
ceived sufficient nutrition to place it in a more normal con- 
dition. Where you cannot succeed in this respect, there is 
little hope of success. Some cases of this character require 
a much longer treatment. It should be persisted in as long 
as there are any signs of improvement physically or men- 
tally. The patient should have some one who understands 
suggestive treatment, as a companion who will keep them 
engaged as much as possible on other things. I consider 
that under proper conditions, suggestion approaches nearer 
to a specific in nervous and mental troubles than any and all 
other methods of treatment. 



—67— 

Epilepsy. 

Congenital epilepsy can not be cured by suggestion or 
any other treatment. Hystero-epilepsy can be cured by 
suggestion. Most epileptics are very susceptible to sugges- 
tion, and should be treated the same as other nervous dis- 
orders, by working on the organs of assimilation and elimi- 
nation. Get nutrition to the brain by lowering the head 
and manipulating each day. 

Headache. 

About the most common complaint from which most 
people suffer is headache ; there are headaches of various 
kinds, but most all are of a reducible nature. The most 
common of these is sick headache, and generally the most 
severe. It generally commences with a chilly, sick and 
vomiting, with soreness of muscles, ringing in the head and 
a general inability to do any work. A sharp shooting pain, 
very intense, generally in the forehead, or temple of the left 
side. The whole head feels sore to the touch. The pain in- 
creases until the head feels as if it would burst. These at- 
tacks generally last from one to three days. If you will ex- 
amine closely into these cases you will find that the stomach, 
liver, bowels, kidneys and skin have almost suspended their 
functions. The student will at once observe that to cure a 
disease of this character, he must first stop the cause. Since 
the organs of digestion and nutrition have been interfered 
with, they are the ones to receive your first attention. This 
can not be done iu a day or a week. The patient should be 
treated daily for a month or six weeks, until every bodily 
function is in perfect working order. For immediate relief 
you should start the organs of elimination to working at 
once. To do this I have the patient drink a few swallows 
of hot water every few minutes. If the water is nausuating 
use tea instead. Do not insist upon the patient eating 



—68— 

anything until elimination has commenced. Hot beef broth 
may be used, if the patient prefers, to tea. After getting 
the patient to take several drinks of the fluid used, put him 
in a suggestible condition, and make your suggestions to the 
desired end in view. 

Neuralgia Headache. 

These are also very common, but can more easily be re- 
moved. Neuralgia is said to be the cry of a nerve for nutri- 
tion. This kind of headache is generally found in persons 
who are bloodless, and as the head is first to suffer from a 
limited supply of blood, the treatment should consist in 
bringing the blood to the head. This can be done by lower- 
ing the head, or by a vigorous rubbing. Hot hands to the 
front and back of the head will generally relieve it. Other 
headaches are caused by too much blood in the head ; in this 
case do anything to reduce the blood supply. Make passes 
from head to foot, and stimulate the organs of digestion and 
elimination. 

Dentistry. 

Suggestion can be used in dentistry with better results 
than any other anaesthetic. I have hypnotized children 
and old people and had dentists extract teeth without a par- 
ticle of pain. The same can be done in filling teeth. It is 
really not necessary to have a patient in a hypnotic condi- 
tion to operate on to avoid pain. This can be done by the 
post hypnotic suggestion, or by simple suggestion alone. 
I was called in to see an old lady one day who was suffering 
with the grippe. Her married daughter was just in the act 
of starting to the dentist to have some teeth filled. She 
was nervous, and had not slept any the night before, and 
was in a poor condition for dental work. I suggested to her 
to let me hypnotize her and quiet her nerves, to which she 
consented. She was an excellent subject. I gave her sug- 
gestions that she would experience no pain while in the den- 
tist's chair, and that she would keep relaxed and not notice 



—69— 

any discomforts of any kind. She had no trouble of any kind, 
and was delighted with the results. Here is what a den- 
tist has to say about how he uses suggestion without hypno- 
tism. He is a graduate of the same school in Suggestion 
with us, and understands his business. Mr. G. C. Schwarz, 
D. D. of Edwardsville, 111. He says : 

"I use suggestion in my daily practice to produce 
insensibility in various operations, but I wish most particu- 
larly to show to what extent it may be used for the painless 
extraction of teeth. 

Placing the patient in the chair, in the proper position, 
I proceed to calmly assure him that if he will follow my 
directions I will extract the tooth absolutely without pain. 
I now have him close his eyes, at the same time stroking the 
affected side of his jaw, explaining as I do this that by this 
process I am able to send all sensations of the face and jaw 
to the lower part of the body, impressing the fact upon him 
that where there are no nerves you naturally feel nothing. 
After having worked in this way for perhaps some thirty 
seconds or perhaps a minute, always having the eyes tightly 
closed, ( for I have them understand that by opening the eyes 
they bring back the nerve forces to the face and head, there- 
by producing sensation.) I then reach for my lance (and I 
wish to say right here that you can in all cases tell by the 
use of the lance whether or not your suggestions have 
sufficiently reached the subjective mind to render the opera- 
tion painless.) Now I have the patient open his mouth, 
repeatedly warning him to keep the eyes closed, lance the 
gums deep enough to cause a free flow of blood ; have him 
open his eyes so that he can see the blood when spitting. 
Now this assures him that you have produced analgesia 
sufficient to use the knife, and when you have demonstrated 



—70— 

this to him, he no longer questions the rest of the operation. 
Now have him close the eyes once more, stroke the jaw a 
few more times, reach for your forceps and extract the 
tooth, suggesting all the time that there will be no bad after 
effects. This modus operandi will work like a charm on 
eight out of every ten patients of the age from six to 
eighteen years. Nothing but forcible suggestion. I do not 
put him to sleep. I practice this on from four to fifteen 
subjects daily with the most favorable results. " 

Dysmenorrhoea. (Painful Menstruation) 

Here is where the medical doctor has very little success, 
but a field where the suggestionest need never fail. 
Dysmenorrhoea might well be called a constipation of the 
uterus, and the trouble is generally a concomitant of con- 
stipation, and should be treated the same with the exception 
of the actual suggestions. 

It generally requires one or two month's treatment to 
cure permanently a case of this kind, and the patient should 
continue the treatment until a cure is effected. The nutri- 
tion should be worked up by suggesting hunger appetite etc. 
I have cured a score of very severe cases of this kind and 
never made a failure. Irregular or delayed menstruation, 
can be as easily cured by keeping the patients attention 
riveted on the day that menstruation is normally due, and 
by the increase of nutrition, and building up of the general 
health. In the treatment of all functional diseases, the 
head should be lowered a few minutes every day. 

Goitre. (Big* Neck.) 

If taken in time every goitre can be cured by suggestion 
and massage. Goitre is an obstruction of the thyroid 
glands. When this obstruction becomes large and hard, and 
has fixed itself there for a number of years, it is hard to re- 
move by any process ; it is too dangerous for a surgical 
operation and is never resorted to unless to save life. To 



—71— 

treat goitre, induce a suggestible condition, and stimulate 
and equalize the circulation. Manipulate the goitre gently, 
as you make your suggestions, explaining what the goitre 
is, and how it will be removed. It takes generally from 
three weeks to six months to remove goitre. I have removed 
three from the necks of young ladies, none of which had 
more than three years growth. Four weeks was the longest 
any of them were treated. 

Obesity. 

This school was the first to report a case of this kind, 
cured by suggestion. When we remember that the mind 
controls the functions, sensation and conditions of the body, 
we can understand why obesity can be cured, that is when 
it is of an abnormal nature. It would be difficult to reduce 
the flesh on a person who was in perfectly healthful and 
normal condition. So would it be hard to increase the flesh 
on one who was naturally thin. When dropsical conditions 
begin to develop, the feet and limbs begin to swell, the heart 
weak "etc., it is high time that something must be done. If 
not, fatty degeneration of the heart takes place, the walls of 
the blood vessels thin, so that the water seaps through caus- 
ing dropsy, and if not checked death is the result. The cause 
of all this begins in the organs of elimination. They are not 
performing their functions properly, and should be the first 
attended to. Nutrition has been in excess of waste, which 
must be reversed. The circulation and elimination of the 
bowels, kidneys and skin should be stimulated, and sugges- 
tions that the walls of the blood vessels would become thick, 
that the water would be absorbed, that waste would be in 
excess of nutrition, and the patient was getting thinner 
every day etc. I reduced a person nine pounds in four 
weeks and removed all dropsical conditions which were very 
marked at the beginning. 



—72— 

Rheumatism or Rheumatic Fever. 

Of all persons whom a doctor of medicine is called upon 
to treat, and the one that gives him the most anxiety and 
baffles his skill, it is the one suffering from chronic rheuma- 
tims. We will not mention here the different kinds of rheu- 
matism for the simple reason, all kinds will be treated alike, 
consequently enumerating them will be of no avail. 

There are three theories given as the probable cause of 
acute rheumatism. First, the Metabolic. Second, the Neu- 
rotic. Third, the Germtheory. Of these the Metabolic 
theory holds most universal sway, which attributes the dis- 
ease to tissue changes whereby an excess of sarco-lactic 
acid prevails in the blood. This pent up acid is due to an 
unhealthy action of the kidneys and liver. The liver being 
torpid in not aiding in the duodenal digestion, and the kid- 
neys not eliminating all the urates. 

In the first place the blood is so surcharged with uric acid 
and as a result the so-called gouty deposits make their ap- 
pearance in and around the joints, in the shape of lime salts. 
These lime salts are productive of much pain upon every 
movement ol the inflamed joint, and by their encroachment 
upon the adjacent tissues the joints become swollen, thus 
rendering life a miserable burden. Uracidsemia or the Met- 
abolic theory may be then denned as that perversion of the 
nutritive functions in which the waste products (1) nitrog- 
enous metabolism, and (2 ) the consumption of nitrogenous 
food are retained in the form of uric acid salts instead of 
being eliminated as urea. 

Symptoms. — The disease may set in with a chill and 
high fever, sore throat, tonsilitis — fever rises quickly, with 



—73— 

one or more joints painful — within twenty-four hours of the 
outset the disease is fully developed. The temperature 
ranges from 102° to 105°. The tongue is covered with a 
white fur — loss of appetite — thirst, constipation and a 
scanty, high colored acid urine. Sweating may be profuse. 
The knees, ankles, elbows and wrists are the joints usually 
attacked, but all joints may be afflicted. One special feature 
of this disease is that there is a tending of the symptoms to 
abate in one joint only to come up with renewed energy in 
another. The blood is rapidly altered in that the patient 
becomes rapidly anaemic. 

In considering the particular line of treatment to be 
adopted, there can be no doubt as to how the suggestions 
shall be given. It is plainly apparent that not only the 
over acid products should be removed, but to prevent 
the formation of any more. It is true that in rheumatic 
trouble that the symptoms do not come up until the liver 
and kidneys — the two main organs involved in the luxus 
consumption of the nitrogenous foods — have had ample 
time to become functionally deranged, the liver so much 
so that the duodenal digestion is so much impaired that 
the formation of uric acids is an every day occurence. 
When you first visit your patient you should, if possible, see 
that they are comfortably placed on a soft mattress. The 
patient should wear flannel. Blankets should be procured 
for the patient to sleep between, in order to lessen the tend- 
ency to catch cold and to obviate the unpleasant clamminess 
that attends sweating. A milk diet is best suited, together 
with alkaline and mineral waters. The unusual thirst de- 
mands plenty of water. You may give plenty of weak lem- 
onade. If milk is not well borne, as we will sometimes find, 
other liquids such as soups, barley water, and broths may 
be given. Meats of all kinds should be prohibited. The 
patient should eat as little as possible of food containing 



—74— 

sugars and starches. All alcoholic drinks should be posi- 
tively forbidden. The local treatment is quite important, in 
that as it both effects the mind of the patient and that it is 
beneficial per se. The joints, if very painful, might be 
wrapped either in hot cotton or hot flannel cloths. In some 
cases cold cloths are more serviceable than hot ones. If you 
be a medicine doctor, and your patient is one who desires 
medicine, these hot' cloths can be well saturated with Pul- 
ler's solution. If the suffering is very intense, and your pa- 
tient is not very susceptible to suggestions, there will be no 
objections in giving a hypodermic injection of morphine, of 
say one-sixteenth of a grain of morphine, then pour your 
suggestions in on top of that. 

You see now quite well how to apply your suggestions 
when you know the cause of the disease. Let your sugges- 
tions be in the line of building up the patients general con- 
dition. Toning up the digestive organs, purifying the 
blood, hastening the assimilation and appropriation of food, 
keeping the liver well stimulated, thus keeping the portal 
system in a healthful condition. Stimulate the eliminative 
organs to speedily eliminate all poisons, especially should 
the suggestions be directed to the kidneys in ridding the 
blood of its uric acids. 



—75— 

LESSON IX. 

HABITS. 
Tobacco Habit. 

In the treatment of all kinds of habits, there is nothing 
that approaches suggestion. In fact, there never was a 
habit of any kind ever broken, or corrected, that suggestion 
in some of its forms did not play an important part. The 
writer once knew a case where a druggist had become an 
inveterate smoker, smoking twelve to fifteen cigars a day. 
It was injuring his health, and he could not quit, as he 
thought, without some material help. So he decided to take 
the Keeley Cure. He accordingly sent for the ingredient, 
which came in a bottle in liquid form. It happened that the 
package was delivered at the store, while the druggist was 
at dinner. The clerk who received it, received also, at the 
same time an idea, and that was, to try the power of his 
employers imagination. He hurriedly poured the contents 
of the bottle into another, and substituted pure water, with 
a little of something to make it the same color of the genuine 
article. Then ceiling it up so as not to be detected, he 
awaited results. The druggist at once began taking his 
medicine, according to the direction on the bottle. He only 
smoked a few cigars that after noon ; and the next day still 
fewer, declaring that he had no desire to smoke, so he quit, 
entirely cured. Now what cured him ? His own auto- 
suggestion — nothing else for he had taken nothing else. 
The tobacco habit is very easily cured by suggestion when a 
user of the weed really wants to quit. Every boy, and 
young man who is nailing down his own coffin lid by smok- 
ing cigarettes, can be easily cured if he so desires. A most 
excellent young man who played the organ in one of my 
meetings in Iowa, was a slave to the deadly cigarette. I 
asked him to let me cure him. He said he could not be 
hypnotized, as he had been tried by Prof. Flint and several 
traveling hypnotists. I told him that made no difference. 



—76— 

that if he would go with me to my room, I could give him 
the "glassy stare " in two minutes. He consented, and sure 
enough he was no trouble to hypnotize at all. x\fter a few 
physical tests to get him real suggestible, I made about the 

following suggestions to him. "Mr. S you are a slave 

to a habit that will cut short your life. You want to free 
yourself now, and you will do so very easily. Your days of 
smoking, sir, are now over. You will never smoke another 
cigarette in peace. You will have no more desire to smoke, 
and if through curiosity, or otherwise you ever attempt to 
smoke another cigarette it will make you deathly sick. Do 
you understand sir ?" He nodded in the affirmative, I re- 
peated in substance the suggestions several times in a very 
emphatic tone of voice. I then woke him up, and he went to 
supper. He came to church early that evening, and as pale 
as a ghost. Coming up to me he said "Say doctor, she 
took." " How is that ?" said I. "Why I liked to vomited 
up my socks," said he : "After supper I thought I would 
try a cigarette just for fun, I didn't want to smoke, and 
ought to have had sense enough not to try, but I was curious 
to see what effect your suggestions would have. " I gave 
one more treatment to take all desire away, and he was 
radically and permanently cured, I had a letter from him 
some time after, saying that he had no desire whatever to 
smoke. This is only one out of several that could be re- 
ported, where suggestion was as equally effective. 

Morphine Habit. 

This is one of the hardest and most difficult of all habits 
to break. A slave to morphine is really to be pitied. When 
will the regular qualified physician stop making these 
slaves ? I presume not while morphine is still manufactured. 
I would not advise the lay student to undertake a bad case 
of morphine habit, until he has had sufficient experience to 
educate his patience. We have only had one of this kind at 
our school. We cured her completely. An old gentleman 



—77— 

saw an ad. of our school, and wrote us about his wife who 
was sixty years of age, and who, owing to several functional 
troubles had became addicted to morphine thirty years ago. 
We wrote him that we could cure her if she would come to 
the school. One day, unannounced, they both came in. It 
fell to my lot to treat her. She had no faith, she said, in 
such a wild goose chase, since she had gone to every thing 
in the country, and as a last resort, till now, had tried Prof. 

s wonderful absent method for two months without 

benefit. She had prolapsus of the bladder and stomach 
troubles, and the only comfort, such as it was, was found in 
morphine. I tried to hypnotize her, but it " didn't take" 
but I went right on with the suggestions just the same. I 
gave suggestions to quiet the nervous system, making the 
long passes all the time, and suggestions that the stomach 
would become strong and normal ; worked upon the appetite, 
circulation etc. While I would be making passes and sug- 
gestions the old lady would stick her under-lip out, and 
screw up her face, as much as to say, ' ' What a goose I am 
to come away down here just to have a fellow make passes, 
and talk, talk, talk, like a parrot ; this will never stop my 
pains nor the demands for morphine. " This was kept up 
for about a week before much improvement was made, how- 
ever, the morphine was handed me the next day, and it is 
still in my possession. After the first week she began to 
improve, at which time she began to draw in her lip, and 
believe more in what was being said to her. She got more 
easy every treatment, when in the second week of treatment 
she went into deep hypnosis. She began to sleep better at 
nights ; quit throwing up her food, picked up in flesh and I 
never saw more of a change in a person in the four weeks 
she staid at the school, at the end of which time she return- 
ed home entirely cured. A letter from her a month later 
stated that she was doing fine. 



—78— 

The Liquor Habit. 

Every unfortunate who has become addicted to this 
habit, and comes to the student of suggestion, in earnest, 
can be more permently and radically cured, than by any other 
process on earth. There are two kinds of drinkers. One 
who drinks regularly, and the other periodically. The 
latter is the one who gets along all right for two or three 
months at a time without a drop, and really without any de- 
sire for it ; but alas, the desire siezes him., and try he may, 
he has not the will power to throw it off. It is not the stuff 
he craves, it is the effect. Now what does he want in this 
case? He Wants his will power of resistance strengthened, 
and that cannot be done in any other way, like proper sug- 
gestions and under proper conditions. This kind of a pa- 
tient should begin treatment at least a month before one of 
his spells are due. The regular drinker may drink because 
he likes it, but most generally he drinks because he thinks 
he needs a stimulant. Both grow on him until his system 
demands a stimulant and his appetite demands satisfaction. 
In his case, if he really wants to quit, and will engage with 
the doctor of suggestion earnestly, he can be as easily cured. 
His power of resistance can be strengthened ; his nervous 
system built up, the desire and appetite entirely taken away. 
These kind of patients should be treated once or twice a 
day until the habit is broken sufficiently to insure an appe- 
tite for food, and sleep at night can be secured. The stu- 
dent should be very earnest in the treatment of all kinds of 
habits, with all the confidence in himself possible. He 
should never say, I will try, or maybe, or I don't know. Be 
positive, and say, I can, or I will do so and so. Nothing 
short of this will accomplish much in suggestion. You may, 
and will fail sometimes, then, but it is not your fault, and 
you should not consider it. Go right at the next one just 
the same as though there could be no possibility of a failure. 



—79— 

If you have no confidence in yourself you cannot generate 
or create it in another. 

Habits of Motion and Sensation. 

Children become addicted to many habits in early life, 
which are allowed to run until they become fixed for life. 
Biting the finger nails, stammering, winking the eyes, bed 
wetting, and then later, lying and swearing. Any and all 
of these can be speedily and permanently cured by sugges- 
tion if taken in time. Simply follow the instruction given 
in the chapter on the education of children in natural sleep, 
or induce a hypnosis and make the suggestion for the effect 
you desire. After stammering has been fixed for years, it 
cannot be cured in this way. It then requires an educational 
system in addition to simple suggestion. A stutterer can 
always sing without any difficulty. Why is this ? Because 
he is always breathing the vowels. It is the consonants that 
he stumbles on, and he must be educated to breathe right, 
and hold the vowel before trying to speak a consonant. I 
have treated several stammerers, and there was never one 
that could stammer while under hypnosis when told that he 
could not. How many men have a habit of pulling at their 
watch-chains, or running their hand through the hair, or 
twirling something in their fingers, which has become so 
fixed they cannot break it. Public men form habits in gest- 
ures, gesticulations, and gyrations, which are simply ridicu- 
lous sometimes. Who is there who has not seen strong, 
able-bodied, intellectual men down town with a string on 
their finger. They have a habit of forgetting everything 
they were sent after. These same men would write an im- 
portant business letter and rush off to mail it on the first 
train ; but the wife would find that same letter in the inside 
coat pocket a week later. And then habits of life, such as 
eating, drinking, breathing and sleeping. When will people 



—80— 

stop to consider the importance of these things ? Here the 
student of suggestion has a large and varied field, for all of 
these can be changed and corrected when it is desired. I 
deem it of sufficient importance to emphasize habits of the 
" mouth." What other organ of the body causes so much 
trouble, sorrow and sickness as this one ? It is this that 
lies, swears, slanders, drinks, eats and fills our stomach with 
poison, bringing premature gray hairs and an early grave. 
When will we learn to keep from putting in and letting out 
of this organ, if I may call it such, the things that defile us, 
and contaminate others ? How much good, on the other 
hand, it is capable of accomplishing when properly used. 
With it we may bless ourselves, aud with it, bring joy ancL 
gladness to many sad and aching hearts. 



(6) 



—81— 

Absent Treatment. 

' That mental telepathy is an established fact is no longer 
a question by those who have investigated it, and any one 
who denies it is not entitled to be called a sceptic, he is sim- 
ply ignorant. If the student desires any further proof of 
this assertion let him read Dr. Hudson's Law of Physic Phe- 
nomena and Frank Podmore on Thought Transference, and 
make a few experiments and if he is not convinced, he will 
not likely succeed very well with suggestion or any other 
science. When I say that mental telepathy is an established 
fact, I do not infer or imply that most of the so-called ab- 
sent treatment practiced by magnetic healers is of any spe- 
cial benefit. I believe most of it to be a farce and a fraud, 
other than the simple suggestions that are sent the patients 
in "stock" letters. Any student of mental science, though 
he be a mere tyro knows that necessary mental conditions 
must exist before any phenomena can be produced. The 
only good result in the kind of absent treatment as practiced 
by those who so widely advertise their "wonderful power" 
is in the following the instructions of the "stock" letter 
which generally requires the patient to "Increase the 
amount of fluids you drink each day and eat heartily. 
"Think often during the day of the benefits you wish 
to obtain. "Lie down for a few mi nutes after each meal, 
and think of your treatment. "At nine o'clock every eve- 
ning retire to a quiet room, lie down and shut your eyes, 
relax every muscle, and concentrate your mind upon me. 
"I will also be in the subjective condition at the same time, 
and will transmit health impressions to your mind provided 
you follow instructions and are not disturbed. ' 'The treat- 
ment will last fifteen minutes. " As before stated some good 
may result from this kind of "distant" treatment, but I deny 



—82— 

that any subtle force passes from the operator to the patient. 
It is very evident on the face of the whole thing that it is simple 
suggestion that acts as the remedial agent, and such non- 
sense, and the prostitution of the God given power of 
telepathy which is within every man, will never educate the 
people to the potency and simplicity of the real power. I 
have met several of these " distant magnetizers, " and no less 
than a dozen of them have taken our course here in the 
Parsons School of Suggestive Therapeutics, after having 
taken the "noble course" of the magnetic healers, and not 
one of -them have I seen that could give the first function of 
the subjective mind. I demand demonstrable facts, and am 
ready to accept such from any source, and I will teach noth- 
ing that can not be thus demonstrated. I believe in telepa- 
thy, because I have tried it, and found it to exist. However, 
I must state that I experimented for about two years before 
I was fully satisfied that the phenomena was not the result 
of coincidence. A person is too apt to deny the reality of a 
thing after a few failures, but I did nothing of the kind. 
While several persons got well while I was experimenting 
with absent treatment upon them, and without their knowl- 
edge, still I thought they might have done so any how. So 
I tried other experiments in order to satisfy myself that it 
was not coincidence. I will give here, one in particular. In 
October 1898 I was in Coffeyville, Kansas, a distance of 
thirty-one miles from my home at Parsons. I had intended 
to go home the last of the week, but changed my mind, and 
so wrote my wife that I would not come until the first of the 
following week. The letter went to Parsons at noon on 
Friday and was delivered at my residence at 6 P. M. the 
same day. After I mailed the letter I took a notion to run 
up home on the following day, which was Saturday. As 
there was but one mail a day I had no other opportunity of 
notifying my wife of the change in my coming. So I con- 



—83— 

eluded to try telepathy. Accordingly when I retired at 
night I thought intently for ten or fifteen minutes just before 
going to sleep of impressing my wife during the night that 
I would be at home the next day. Now she already had my 
letter saying, I would not be home till the next week, but 
when she got up on Saturday morning, she told the children 
that " Papa will be at home to-day," and when I arrived at 
the house at 12:20 noon, she had dinner in waiting, looking 
for me. Was this coincidence ? 

I stopped a case of congenital Epilepsy for five weeks 
once while I was holding a meeting in a town, and the person 
treated never knew what stopped them. It never [-had 
occured before so long in the history of the persons life. 
Was it coincidence ? But now to the theory. I can do no 
better here than to quote the propositions of Mr. Hudson, 
whose pupil I am, and whose hypothesis I believe. I think 
he has established the following propositions, at least pro- 
visionally : — 

1. There is inherent in man, a power which enables him 
to communicate his thoughts to others, independently of 
objective means of communication. 

2. A state of perfect passivity on the part of the per- 
cipient is the most favorable condition for the reception of 
telepathic impressions or communications. 

3. There is nothing to differentiate natural sleep from 
induced sleep. 

4. The subjective mind is amenable to control by sug- 
gestion during natural sleep just the same as it is during 
induced sleep. 

5. The condition of natural sleep, being the most per- 
fect passive condition attainable, is the best condition for the 
reception of telepathic impressions by the subjective mind. 

6. The most perfect condition for the conveyance of 
telepathic impressions is that of natural sleep. 



7. The subjective mind of the agent can be compelled 
to communicate telepathic impressions to a sleeping per- 
cipient by strongly willing it to do so just previous to going 
to sleep. The chain of reasoning embraced in the foregoing 
propositions seems to be perfect ; and it is thought that 
sufficient facts have been adduced to sustain each proposi- 
tion which is not self evident, or confirmed with, the common 
experience of mankind. The conclusion is irresistible that 
the best possible condition for the conveyance of therapeutic sug- 
gestions from the healer to the patient is attained tvhen both are 
in a state of natural sleep ; and tJtat such suggestion can be so 
communicated by an .effort of will on the part of the healer just 
before going to sleep. " I will not go into detail here, with the 
many experiments of myself or others ; suffice it to say that 
Dr. Hudson says that he with one or two others never made 
a single failure in over one hundred cases. 

Little need be said regarding the mode of operation as 
it is apparent from what has be«n said that the method is as 
simple as it is effective. All that is required on the part of 
the operator is that he shall be possessed of an earnest 
desire to cure his patient ; that he shall concentrate his mind, 
just before going to sleep, upon the work in hand, and direct 
his subjective mind to occupy itself during the night in con- 
veying therapeutic suggestions to the patient. To that end 
the operator must accustom himself to the assumption that 
his subjective mind is a distinct entity ; that it must be 
treated as such, and guided and directed in the work to be 
done. The work is possibly more effective if the operator 
knows the character of the disease with which the patient is 
afflicted, as he would then be able to give his directions more 
specifically. But much may be left to instinct, of which the 
subjective mind is the source. It seems reasonable to suppose 
however, that if that instinct is educated by objective training 



—85— 

it will be all the better, Be this as it may, the fact remains 
that all men possess the power to alleviate human suffering, 
to a greater or less degree, by this method. There is a 
practical and immediate reward accompanying every effort 
to heal the sick by the method herein indicated. It consists 
in this, that every earnest effort to convey therapeutic sug- 
gestion or impressions to a patient during sleep is inevita- 
bly followed by a dreamless sleep on the part of the healer. 
It would seem that the subjective mind, following the com- 
mand or suggestion of the healer, occupies itself with the 
work it is directed to do, to the exclusion of all else ; and 
hence the physical environments of the sleeper fails to pro- 
duce peripheral impressions strong enough to cause the 
dreams which ordinarily result from such impressions. I 
believe it possible to convey our thoughts to another at a 
distance, also in the waking state, if the necessary condi- 
tions can be obtained. I will here insert a letter of Dr. 
Pitzer's of St. Louis on " Healing at a Distance," and which 
was published in the Suggester and Thinker, a monthly 
journal edited by Robt. Sheerin of Cleveland, Ohio, and 
which every student should take if possible. Dr. Pitzer is 
an honest, conscientious christian gentleman, and his cures 
have been many and marvelous, and we can do no better 
than to close this lesson with his letter which is as follows : 

"Distant healing is a success. It maybe practiced by 
purely mental processes, while the healer is wide awake, 
and the patient either awake or asleep, preferably while he 
is asleep ; and distance is no hindrance to success in any 
case. 

The most successful and available method of distant 
healing, and the one we advocate most, is a combination of 
written suggestions and mental efforts, the treatment being 
carried on while patient and healer are in a normal, waking 
state, and they may be thousands of miles apart. Distant 



-,86—. 

healing is no theory with me, for I have demonstrated : its 
truth in actual practice. People who doubt or deny that 
diseases can be cured and habits corrected by suggestion 
and mental efforts at a distance, are simply ignorant of the 
laws that control their bodies, and there are many people of 
this class. They are not to be blamed, for they have not 
made a special study of this subject ; or if they have, they 
have not been able, from some cause, to comprehend it. We 
find them in every walk of life ; not only among the com- 
mon people, but in all the professions ; especially do we find 
them in the medical profession. In fact, the majority of 
physicians dipute the assertion at once, when we say that we 
relieve or cure disease by suggestion alone, in any case, 
either by present or distant treatment. "But the evidence 
upon which the common and professional people predicate 
their arguments against the different methods of suggestive 
treatment are all negative. They have seen it fail ; or they 
have tried it themselves and failed. And what does this 
signify ? Failures, and men and women who fail, do not 
count for anything against successes and against men 
and women who actually succeed. Negative evidence 
is worthless by the side of positive knowledge. I say I 
know suggestion cures, because I have successfully used it 
in hundreds of cases, and have wrought cures by sugges- 
tion alone, where other popular means, including medi- 
cines, had totally failed. If another man fails to do these 
things under similar conditions, it does not prove my 
methods to be worthless nor do away with my success; it 
only shows that he is not up to the business of curing in this 
way, that's all. 

I will here detail the treatment of a case of verbal sug- 
gestion, where I had the patient before me, in my office, 
every day. I will then show the patient how I should 
have treated the same patient at a distance by written sug- 



—87— 

gestions and mental efforts. By comparing present and ab- 
sent treatment in this way, the reader may be able to more 
readily comprehend the principles upon which distant 
treatment is successfully practiced. 

On May 23rd. 1898, Mr. B. age 47, was sent to me for 
treatment by one of my friends, and he gave me, in sub- 
stance, the following history : 

"I was taken sick last March, a year ago. I have not 
been able to go to business or do any work since I was 
taken sick, and I am getting no better. I have had the ad- 
vice of six as good physicians as I could find in this city 
( St. Louis). Some of them treated me for a month or so, and 
when I would get no relief I would try another ; one of them 
treated me six months, but all without any permanent bene- 
fit. I am greatly disheartened, and I very reluctantly apply 
to you for treatment, for I was scarcely able to get here. I 
suffer terribly from neuralgia, or rheumatism in the back of 
my head, and in my neck and shoulders also. I am fre- 
quently taken with weak spells, almost faint, and have to 
lie down. I am very short of breath all the time, espec- 
ially when I exert myself a little. My face, hands, feet, 
legs and abdomen are greatly swollen or puffed up, which 
you can readily see, and the doctors tell me I have the 
dropsy. I have had several bad spells of nosebleed ; noth- 
ing will completely stop it ; it continues to bleed for two or 
three days, till I get so weak that I can sit up no longer, 
then it gradually ceases. I live in constant fear of these 
spells of nosebleed, for they depress me so, and I am afraid 
they may, sometime, bleed me to death. They keep me 
looking very pale all the time, no color of blood in my face. 
I have taken quarts of medicine, but seemingly, all to no 
purpose. Now, I should like to know what you think you 
can do for me. 



—88— 

I examined Mr. B. very carefully, and my following 
speech to him reveals his true condition at that time, shows 
the reader how I approached him, and how I managed the 
case by verbal suggestion in my office. 

"Mr. B., you are suffering from a complication of neu- 
ralgia and rheumatism, and weakness of the heart ; you 
have no organic disease of the heart ; it is only weak, and 
all the blood vessels in your body are weak and relaxed, as 
well as your heart and your dropsy and nosebleed are owing 
to this weak condition of your heart and the vessels that cir- 
culate your blood. The walls of the blood vessels are so 
weak and relaxed that the watery element of your blood 
settles in the tissues all over the body, and this is called 
dropsy. When you have nosebleed, and the blood itself 
strains through the walls of the vessels, they are so very 
weak and relaxed. 

' 'Mr. B. , I know exactly what is the matter with you, and 
I can cure you too. You have the latent forces within your 
body, when properly called out, to restore you to perfect 
health. I can, by suggestion, at once engage the life forces 
within you, to improve the nutrition of your heart, and in- 
vigorate it, and strengthen all the blood vessels leading to 
and from it. As the heart grows stronger and the walls of 
the blood-vessels improve in tonicity and become impervious, 
no more water can escape or get out of the blood and settle 
in the flesh, all dropsical effusion will be arrested and your 
nose will not bleed any more. All of the water now in the 
flesh of your face, hands, body, etc. , will be carried away by 
absorption. This will relieve you of your dropsical condi- 
tion, prevent the oppressed feelings and weak spells from 
which you have suffered, and the fresh natural color will re- 
turn to your face, your neuralgia and rheumatism will go 
away, and you will be well from head to foot. 



This plain speech interested Mr. B. very much, and I 
had his entire attention. He was already inspired with 
hope, and thought that he could plainly see that there was 
some help for him. I then explained to him how we could 
engage the silent forces in his body to cure him by sugges- 
tion ; how his subjective mind had absolute control over all 
the function of his body ; how we could relieve his pains, 
invigorate his heart, remove the water from the flesh of his 
body, prevent his nose from bleeding any more, and he was 
ready, ever eager, to take the treatment, and I immediately 
commenced with him in the following manner. 

" Mr. B., I see that you realize that you are commencing 
a method of treatment that will immediately help you and 
finally cure you, and it is so. Now, I want you to assume 
that you are going to lapse into au easy condition of quiet 
sleep. As you sit in the chair; please lock your hands; relax 
yourself as well as you can; and as I hold my hand in front 
of; and a little above your eyes; please direct your gaze at 
the end of my fingers; let nothing divert your attention; but 
look steadily and listen to me while I talk. As you fix your 
gaze and steadily look at the ends of my fingers; you will 
very soon observe a quiet; easy feeling coming all over you. 
Your head feels easy; your arms and hands feel heavy; and a 
quiet; sleepy feeling comes all over your body. You are 
feeling very sleepy. Your eyelids are getting very heavy; 
very heavy ; and you can hardly keep your eyes open any 
longer. Sleep is coming. Your eyelids are heavy ; heavy ; 
closing ; closing ; closing ; sleepy ; sleepy ; sleepy ; your eyes 
are closed ; closed ; closed ; and you are sound asleep ; sound 
asleep from head to foot. 

"You are now sound asleep ; and every function of your 
body is coming into harmony, one with another. Your 
nervous system is perfectly quiet ; your heart beating 
regularly and strong ; respiration free and easy ; and you are 
feeling perfectly comfortable and quiet. Your head, neck 



—90— 

and shoulders now feel perfectly easy; your heart is beating 
stronger; the blood-vessels are contracting and becoming 
impervious to the escape of water or blood • the water in 
your face ; hands and legs is all going away ; going away ; 
and you are already breathing free and easy ; feeling easy 
quiet and comfortable from head to foot ; and from this day 
you will be entirely free from fear of nosebleed ; for your 
nose will not bleed any more ; for the blood vessels are 
getting strong and impervious ; and, absolutely ; your nose 
can not bleed any more. Your nose will not bleed any more ; 
it cannot bleed any more. You are sleeping well ; eating 
well ; digesting well ; heart beating stronger every day ; 
water leaving your face ; hands and legs ; and you are 
rapidly improving in every way. Now when you wake up 
you will feel better than you have felt for a long time. 
Your neck, head and shoulders will feel easy and comfort- 
able ; and your heart will beat regularly and strong ; you 
will breathe easy and deep ; absolutely have no more nose- 
bleed ; feel better in every way ; cheerful ; hopeful ; and 
happy. You will grow stronger every day ; and, finally you 
will be well from head to foot. When I count five you may 
open your eyes and wake up. One, two, three, four, five. 
Open your eyes and wake up. " 

I repeated in substance the above formula several times 
to Mr. B., and he waked up feeling refreshed and invigo- 
rated, and went away very much encouraged. He returned 
every day for awhile, and, after putting him to sleep, I re- 
peated about the same lecture to him, only I made the sug- 
gestions a little stronger — more positive — as he improved. 
For example, I would say to him : "" Your head neck, and 
shoulders feel perfectly well. Your heart is beating stronger 
every day ; and the water in your face, hands and legs is all 
gone. Your nose bleeds no more. Your nose will not, can- 
not bleed any more and you are getting stronger every day 



—91— 

You eat well, sleep well, look well and are rapidly gaining 
in health and strength of body and mind, and will soon be 
well from head to foot. " 

He always went away feeling cheerful and hopeful, bet- 
ter in every way. He actually improved from the very first 
day of the treatment, never had another nosebleed, and in 
five weeks from the day he commenced the treatment with 
me, he went to work and he has not missed a single day 
from the work since he commenced. He eats well, sleeps 
well, does his work well, and walks up hill, nearly a mile, 
every evening on his return from work, and will soon be as 
well and strong as ever in his life. This is a clear and im- 
portant case in office practice, where suggestion cured the 
patient, for Mr. B. has not taken a grain of any kind of med- 
icine since he commenced treatment with me. 

Now for the method of treating the above case at a dis- 
tance. Well, let us suppose this patient to be a thousand 
miles distant from me. He writes me a letter containing the 
same description of his ailments above given. I reply to 
him and make the same statemeut to him in writing that I 
make to him here in my office, where I commence by say- 
ing : "Mr, B., you are suffering from a complication of 
neuralgia and rheumatism," etc. Following this, I explain 
to him how I can by suggestion, engage the silent forces 
within him to bring into harmony all the functions of his 
body, invigorate his heart, remove the water from his tissues, 
relieve his pains, prevent nosebleed, etc. 

Instead of asking him to relax himself and go to sleep, 
as I do in office treatment, I simply request him to retire to 
some quiet place in the house at a certain hour each day. I 
agree with him to do the same thing — repair to a quiet place, 
take a recumbent posture and close my eyes. I request him 
to remain in a quiet condition with me for five minutes ; to 



—92— 

keep his thoughts upon me, and I will think of him, and in 
five minutes we will be en rapport with each other. I now 
ask him to repeat with me the duplicate suggestions which 
I furnish him, and we repeat these suggestions in concert, 
exactly as I gave them to him here in my office, where I 
commence by saying : ' ' Every function of your body is 
coming into harmony with one another. ' ' "We repeat these 
suggestions in harmony, over and over, for fifteen minutes, 
finishing by repeating the last suggestions, " Now when you 
wake up you will feel better," etc., but instead of the words 
" "Wake up," I have it read, " Wheu I get up I will feel bet- 
ter," etc. 

When the patient can do so, I have him memorize the 
duplicate suggestions, and repeat them with his eyes closed; 
but if he cannot do this, I have him open his eyes and read 
them, after he has had his eyes closed for five minutes. If, 
from any cause, the patient cannot read the suggestions I 
furnish him, then I let him have some friend read them to 
him while he is in a recumbent posture and eyes closed. The 
results are the same, if the work is properly done, and in 
the right spirit. 

In a special address that I prepare and send to all of my 
distant patients, I fully explain the influence of suggestion, 
friendly suggestions, adverse suggestions, auto-suggestion, 
etc., and I furnish every patient with one of my books, 
"Suggestion," without extra expense. 

Now, think of it, a patient a thousand miles distant, in 
a recumbent posture, eyes closed, suffering from some dis- 
ease that all ordinary means have failed to cure. He is ear- 
nestly engaged with me in a persistent effort for relief and 
cure. As he lies upon the couch with his eyes closed and 
mind fixed upon me, he realizes that I am at that very moment, 
in the same posture, earnestly engaged in his behalf; that I am 
with him in thought and soul, and he sensibly feels my pres- 
ence. Some of these patients express wonder at the strange 
feelings of gladness, relief and strength that comes over them 



—93— 

while taking these treatments. While it is true that some 
patients are more successfully treated by present, verbal sug- 
gestion, it is an absolute fact that others enjoy more relief 
from distant treatment ; they seem to feel and realize that 
there is more soul in it. 

There is a certain class of patients that I can treat very 
successfully at a distance. They write me in detail and tell 
me all about their own condition. I write them fully in 
reply, and tell them their cases so plainly that they feel and 
realize that I must know more about them and their ailments 
than they themselves ever dreamed of ; and so I do. I know 
that I can cure them, and tell them so. And, as above 
stated, I request them to fix their mind upon me as their 
helper, and to assume that I am, at the very moment agreed 
upon, with them in heart and soul, earnestly engaged in pro- 
jecting healthful thoughts to their subjective minds, which 
is literally true ; this brings us en rapport with each other, 
and they realize that our souls are really in communion for 
a common purpose, which promptly brings all the functions 
of their bodies into perfect harmony, and restores them to 
natural conditions of health. This method of treatment 
faithfully carried out with me by patients who are earnest, 
trustful and persevering, will and does succeed in producing 
marvelous cures. 

People who cannot comprehend the practice of distant 
healing, and who do not know how to project thoughts in an 
effective manner, may assail our methods, call them 
illegitimate, accuse us of deception, declare that we cannot 
transmit thoughts, and exhort us to cling to the lone practice 
of verbal suggestion, and to give up distant healing as a part 
of our business ; but what does this all signify ? What do 
we care for this ? Why, when I started to St. Louis, 
twenty-five years ago, to make it my future home for the 



—94— 

practice of medicine, one of my best friends told me that I 
could not succeed in that great city. In very polite langu- 
age, I told him that he was not telling the truth — that I knew 
better ; that I was just as well prepared to practice medicine 
in St. Louis as hundreds of others that were doing well 
there, and that what other men had done I could do also , 
and that I had determined to go, and that I should make a 
success of it too. Time has settled that dispute, and it will 
not take nearly as long to forever hide in oblivion the 
adverse opinions held and advocated by men and women who 
dispute the honesty and effectiveness of our methods of dis- 
tant healing, for a demonstrated truth to-day will be a truth 
to-morrow and forever, and truth will prevail against all 
opposition and ignorance. 

If we listen to and heed all the adverse suggestions com- 
ing to us from ignorant sources, we can never succeed in any- 
thing. We declare that we can and do cure diseases at a 
distance, and we teach our students to do the same thing ; 
but people who have more confidence in proprietary medicine 
shops than they have in suggestion, should not attempt to 
learn this practice till they change their minds, for it requires 
confidence and sincerity to lift people from the negative con- 
ditions of sin, disease, degradation, and despair. 

No matter what people may say about it, or what 
opinions they may entertain, there is no gainsaying the 
reality of cures that are made at a distance. We make them 
and we cure diseases in this and by other suggestive 
methods, that have baffled the skill of the best physicians in 
the land. Suggestion is a wonderful power ; and I repeat it, 
where patients have sufficient confidence to commence and 
earnestly pursue the treatment with me to the end, I can 
bring him in rapport with me, and can relieve them of any 



JAN 4 1900 



—95— 

disease, by suggestion, if a cure be within the bounds of 
possibility ; and I can cure a large per cent of patients by 
suggestion and mental effort at a distance." 

CONCLUSION. 

It is thought that enough has been said in these lessons 
to give the student a clear conception of the art and science 
of Suggestive Therapeutics. Too much theory confuses the 
mind, and hence we have only stated the facts, facts that 
are demonstrable and practical. These lessons should be 
studied thoroughly before the student begins practice. We 
have just told you how you may proceed at every step, and 
if you will faithfully follow these instructions you cannot 
fail. Do not be gulled into buying &ny ' ' instantaneous pro- 
cess of hypnotism." They are all frauds. You cannot learn 
to hypnotize any better or quicker by all the widely adver- 
tised courses on earth, than you can with these lessons. Do 
not get discouraged if you fail occasionally ; the best opera- 
tors do the same. We will always be glad to hear from our 
students and of their successes. Through the telescope of 
scientific research, and by the light of prophecy, I can see 
the dawn of a better day. I can see a race of men as pure as 
snow, as white as milk, and covered over with the sheen of 
sapphires. I see the children, gay and nimble, dancing on 
the slopes, and health and beauty all around in every heart 
and home. I hear the poets singing the hopes and aspira- 
tions of a world redeemed, and millions more all flushed 
with joy and crowned with the diadems of peace. We of 
this generation and nation, standing upon the mountain of 
opportunity where God has placed us, stretch our hands 
into the future, with power to mold the destinies of unborn 
millions. 

"We are living, we are dwelling, 
In a grand and awful time; 

In an age on ages telling. 
To be living is sublime." 



Library of Congress 
Branch Bindery, 1001 



